Ears to Good Health
by AngelWithACrookedHalo
Summary: Punny title is a pun. Not even a year has passed since the Adephagos's defeat, when a strange force is trying to bring back the blastia. Rated T for a foul-mouthed little mage. Post-game. Yurita, some Estelle/Ioder.
1. Working hard or Hardly Working?

It didn't seem to be against his will, the way he kept looking over at her. She noticed it from time to time as she ran around the tavern to take and deliver orders. His eyes would be on her near constantly. When their gazes met, he would abruptly look away, a pinkish hue to his face. But then his eyes would be drawn right back to her. Had he felt this way all along? Or was it his one weakness that was making him like this? Those damn cat ears of hers…

* * *

><p>"Thank you so much for your help again."<p>

"Whatever…waitressing isn't that bad."

A bag of Gald exchanged hands, and Rita Mordio put on a happy smile. She had been running low on her Mana research funds. And for once, she wouldn't have to give her money to her patient companion at an empty table. She walked over to him with a victorious grin on her face.

"Alright, Yuri, I'm ready to go." She said happily.

"Aren't you…going to change first?" Yuri asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I left my clothes at the HQ. Besides, I like these."

Why was he expecting any kind of a different answer? He sighed and got up from the table. The two exited the tavern and walked through Dahnghrest to Brave Vesperia's HQ. The once small guild of four members had grown exponentially since the defeat of the Adephagos. When the troupe descended from the ancient tower and little Karol had announced it was Brave Vesperia that saved the world, recruitments flooded in. Yuri had dubbed it "too much effort to deal with" and left the sorting of all the possible new members to Karol. He held back his laughter as he opened the wooden door for himself and Rita. The little boy had passed out on top of a mountain of paperwork.

"Poor little guy…but he insisted on doing it all himself." A sultry voice said from a corner. Judith waved a quick hello to the duo before walking over to them. "Oh, more guild funds? What a help, Rita." She smiled.

"I'm not a part of this." The mage growled, holding her earnings close to her body.

The two had been through a lot together. In fact, they even developed a sisterly bond. But the mage still harbored a small grudge towards the Krityan. Even though the blastia had been all wiped out—and for good reason too—there was some small part of Rita that couldn't forgive her for destroying all those Hermes models. Judith raised her hands, taking a step back.

"Alright, alright. I don't want to get you mad, kitty." She smirked.

Rita's cheeks pinked and she stared at her feet. "Stop calling me that." She said quietly before making her leave to the back of the building.

There was the sound of a door slamming followed by small girlish laughter. "Oh, it's so much fun to tease her." Judith smiled, turning her focus on Yuri, "Wouldn't you agree?"

"Yeah, it is." He smiled.

Judith was silent for a moment, watching him. She smirked and walked over to his side. "It looks to me like you've grown very fond of our little mage." she mused.

"What are you talking about, Judy?" Yuri asked, keeping his usual poker face on.

"I'm Krityan. I can sense these things." She smiled, placing a hand on his chest, "And I can sense that the great, strong, fearless Yuri Lowell has developed a crush of sorts on the violent little girl we let stay here."

"Your sense is off." He frowned, "It's just the ears…anyone can wear those and I'd think the same things." He brushed her hand off and headed for his own room in the small HQ. Judith watched him leave with curious eyes.

"I'm sure that's why you've become so defensive of her. Seems to be moreso when she's working." She said playfully.

Yuri stopped in his tracks. He turned his head slightly in her direction. Judith folded her arms knowingly. She simply gave him a smile. "I suppose you'd want to ravish me as well if I was wearing them?" She held her hands up in front of her body to mimic cats paws. "Meow meow~"

"There's nothing on your head so I can't say for sure." He rested his weight on one leg, smiling playfully back at her.

"Ah, well that can be fixed." She smiled, putting her arms behind her, The Krityan sauntered over to Rita's room and entered quickly. Yuri had no time to react or say anything. A short time later, Judith exited the room, the cat ears Rita wore clenched in her hand. She carefully shut the door behind her before turning to grin at Yuri.

"How's this?" she smiled, placing the ears on her head. She did her cat impression again, lightly batting at his hair with her fists.

To say he didn't like them on her would have been a lie. It would have been the biggest lie he'd ever told in his life. But looking at her with those ears on didn't give the exact same spark as when he saw them on Rita. Then realization struck, forcing his body to freeze up. If he liked those ears on Rita more than on the half-naked woman in front of him…no. No no no. It couldn't be…could it?

"…Guess I'll just find the food myself. Sorry to interrupt."

Both Human and Krityan turned to see Rita giving the two of them a curious look. She had her arms folded and her weight on one leg. She had changed back to her regular hodgepodge of a tunic.

"Rita, it's not what it looks like." Yuri said quickly, moving away from Judith and closer to the mage.

Rita had already started making her way across the large room to the food cupboard. "Whatever. It's not like I care what you two end up doing." she said calmly, starting to make herself a sandwich. Her snack was quickly made. She started back to her room, jumping quickly to snatch her ears off Judith's head. "Don't take these again." She warned before slamming the door.

"Rude as always." Judith commented, adjusting her bangs.

Yuri sighed. "I'll give her a reminder we're letting her stay here and we could kick her out any moment."

"But you wouldn't, would you?"

Yuri stopped again. Judith was right. He wouldn't—no, couldn't—kick out the fiery brunette he had grown to care about so much. The Krityan gave a smug smirk before walking to the exit. "I'm going for a walk. Maybe talk with Ba'ul. Don't do anything nasty to our little mage now." She teased before giving a wink and taking her leave.

It was too late for Yuri to make a witty comeback. He rolled his eyes at the door before making his way to the room Rita stayed in. The building itself was small, making her room more like an oversized closet. She insisted on taking that room, however, claiming she was used to dark, cramped spaces. No one wanted to argue so they let her have her way. Rita sat on a pile of sheets she called her bed, a couple candles illuminating the dark room. One would have trouble telling it was noon in there. A thick book was propped open in her lap, her eyes darting over the words as she idly munched on the food she made earlier. She would mumble something to herself occasionally before digging around her to jot down a note or two.

"Hey, Rita." He called, stepping over a pile of books.

He was ignored. Rita kept reading. Yuri frowned and squatted next to her. He stared at her for a moment. "…Rita. Are you there?" he called again.

No response. Her lips moved in time with the words on the page as she memorized the contents of whatever scientific drabble was written. Yuri was partly mesmerized by it. Her lips looked really soft…

He shook his head to clear it. There was no possible way he liked her. Right?

"Rita…Hey, Rita!" He yelled this time, tapping her on the shoulder.

"What?" she snapped, quickly turning her head to face him, "I'm reading, Yuri. Leave me alone."

Yuri grabbed the book out of her lap and slammed it shut with a loud bang. When she tried to protest, he quickly covered her mouth with his hand. "This is kind of important, I suggest you listen." He said calmly, "I'd prefer it if you acted a little differently around here. We're letting you stay here because we care. If you keep it up, we can kick you out at any time, you know."

He removed his hand from her face, keeping an unblinking serious stare fixated onto her eyes. Rita frowned.

"…You wouldn't kick me out." She said in a low voice.

Yuri kept his straight face. He quickly reached out and grabbed around her middle before standing up, slinging her over his shoulder.

"What the-? H-hey! Put me down!" she yelled.

Rita kicked her legs and beat on his back furiously. Yuri seemed unfazed by it. He calmly left the small room and the HQ before setting her down in the street.

"Looks like I just kicked you out." He grinned, folding his arms across his chest.

Rita puffed out her body to make herself appear bigger. "You're a real jerk, did you know that?" she growled, getting on her tiptoes.

Yuri simply shrugged and turned his back to her. "Bye." He said before reentering the HQ. Before he could shut the door, he felt himself being pulled back. He turned to see Rita gripping the back of his vest, tears welling in her angered eyes.

"Fine, I'm sorry. Is that what you wanted to hear?" she huffed.

A soft smile graced his lips as he looked at her. He couldn't deny it. Her angry yet pleading face was far too adorable. But he couldn't pass up any sort of teasing opportunity.

"Mmm…maybe." he shrugged. He began to circle her slowly, like an animal that had just trapped its prey.

"J-just what the hell are you doing?" Rita snapped. Her voice shook with nervousness.

He stayed silent as he finished his second lap around her. "Waiting for another apology. The one you gave me was quite half-assed."

Rita growled and clenched her hands into fists. "…I'm sorry for being crabby." She mumbled, looking away.

"Hm…didn't quite catch that." He grinned, leaning in closer to her.

"I said I'm sorry for being crabby!" Rita yelled.

"That's better." He smiled, clapping a hand on the top of her head.

He ruffled up her hair with a large grin. Rita brushed his hand away, giving him a death glare. Yuri simply countered it with a bigger grin. She just rolled her eyes at him before trying to reenter Brave Vesperia's HQ. He stood in her path, resting his elbow in the doorframe. He held his head in the arm he propped up, smiling at her.

"What now?" she groaned when it became apparent he wasn't going to let her through.

"You need to pay the entrance fee." he grinned.

"Come on, Yuri!" she yelled, trying to force her way through. He didn't budge. He simply smiled at her with his playful grin. Eventually, Rita sighed and massaged her temples, trying to calm the headache that came whenever she dealt with him. "…Ok, fine. I'll play along. What's the entrance fee?" she asked through clenched teeth.

Yuri pointed to his lips. "A kiss. Right here."

It was a joke, or so he wanted to believe. His mind wouldn't let him. Yuri really did want a kiss from her. A kiss, hug, touch…something to prove his feelings to himself. If something happened, and he still felt the same, he would know how he felt about her. If nothing happened, it would mean the opposite, and he could go about his life without having to worry about stupid things like love.

Rita, however, didn't think it was that funny.

With an amazoness-like yell, she took aim and punched him squarely in the stomach, her face bright red. She was strong. Strong enough to cripple Yuri. The adult male doubled over and sunk to his knees, gasping for breath. The only other person to hurt him this badly was Flynn when they would get into little tussles as children. Rita dusted off her hands and stepped over him with a satisfied "Hmph!" before returning to the HQ and her little closet of a room.


	2. Little Ball of Tsundere

"I'm back!"

Yuri entered the HQ, holding up a sack of Gald coins. The small jingle seemed to summon the tiny leader. Karol flew out of a nearby door, a large grin on his face.

"Alright, Yuri! The job wasn't too difficult, was it?" he asked, skidding to a halt before the older male.

"Nah. Though babysitting the elderly isn't exactly my forte." he sighed.

Yuri dropped the bag of money into Karol's eager hands. The little boy grinned from ear to ear, staring at the money with pure bliss in his brown eyes. Yuri sighed again and left for his room. The sounds of Karol's happy musings on how much he had saved at this point faded as the ex-knight got further and further away. On the way to his room in the back he passed by Rita's closet. He stared at the door, a bit of sadness welling up inside him. It had been four days since his little joke on the mage. Ever since, she had refused to speak with him, much less leave her room. He frowned. It wasn't much of an answer, so he was left with his conflicted emotions.

"My, what was it you did to scar her so horribly she hasn't spoken to you in four days?"

Yuri turned to see a very smug and entertained looking Judith standing behind him. She swaggered over to him before putting her arms behind her back.

"I don't want to talk about it." he grumbled, moving away from her.

"Aww, don't hide it from me. Tell me all the juicy details." she smirked.

"It wasn't anything bad. Just a little game." he answered with a sigh.

Judith giggled to herself before putting her arms behind her once more. "Must have been a dirty game to get her that mad at you."

"You know it." He said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

Satisfied enough, Judith smiled before returning to Karol for a new job. Yuri watched her leave before looking back at Rita's room. He thought a couple times about going in and talking to her. It seemed like the best course of action. He put his hand on the doorknob and jiggled the handle to find it locked. Figures.

"Just what the HELL do you think you're doing? LAPLACE!"

Something quite heavy and blunt smacked him from behind. Yuri turned to see a very angry Rita holding her current spell book "Thanatologos". Part of the spine was bent from the impact it made on Yuri's skull. He reached up and rubbed the growing bump on his head.

"Ow…geez that hurt." he grumbled.

"Where do you think you were going?" she growled, readying her spell book for another attack, "Don't you think you should ask before going into MY room?"

"Don't have much point in going in there now." he said, leaning against the wall, "Since you're out here and all."

Rita gave him a curious look. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, since you're staying here and all, you might as well join us."

"Why would _I_ want to join _you_?" she sneered.

"Because you live here."

There wasn't much to argue against that. She had been kind of mooching off of them. And hadn't been contributing much either…

"…I'll think about it." she grumbled.

Yuri grinned and patted her on the head, ruffling up her hair. She tried to swat him away but failed. Yuri took this chance to lean down and kiss her forehead. It wasn't until after the action was done that he realized what he just did. He never meant to do that. Or did he? He stared at Rita, looking for any kind of reaction. Her face was lowered to the ground, her eyes hidden by her bangs. A vibrant blush radiated from her cheeks.

"You…you just…" she stuttered, her body shaking.

And here comes the impact. Yuri waited for the smack or punch or kick that was sure to come flying in his direction. A few seconds passed. Then a few more. And a few more. When it became apparent the impact wasn't going to happen, Yuri opened one eye curiously. There she was, one arm raised in the air. But her body was frozen. Rita slowly lowered her arm and spun on her heel.

"…Idiot."

With that, she calmly walked down the hallway, accidently hitting a wall before leaving completely. He was going to have fun taunting her about that later. It was how easily pissed off she got that made everything that much more fun. Yeah…that had to be it. She made funny faces when she got mad. That's why he teased her. That was it. Yuri took a deep breath and continued off into his room, clearing his mind of his emotions.

* * *

><p>"Hey…hey asshole! Get up!"<p>

A sudden surge of ice-cold water rushed over Yuri Lowell's body, jerking him awake from his deep sleep. He sat up quickly, spluttering and coughing.

"What the hell?" he yelled, clearing the water from his eyes.

He was greeted by an angry short pillar of red towering over his bed. "It's about time you got up." She huffed, giving him a nice, friendly whack on the head to help him wake from his slumber. He gave her a quizzical look before watching her spin on her heel to exit. Right before leaving she turned back around to look at him. "The runt wants you. Hurry to the lobby." With that, Rita spun again and slammed the door behind her.

With a groan, Yuri stretched and got up from his little cot of a bed. He tried to wring out his soaked clothes as much as possible before heading through the small hallway to the main entrance.

"Yuri! You're awake!" Karol greeted peppily.

He ran over to Yuri, grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him to the center where Rita was waiting. The young mage was tapping her foot against the ground impatiently, a large paper bag in her arms. When she met Yuri's gaze she abruptly turned away and he could have sworn there was a blush on her cheeks. Though it could have been his confused imagination.

"Yuri, can you focus?" Karol asked impatiently.

Yuri turned his focus on the tiny guild leader. "Sorry Boss." he apologized.

"I'm sending you out on a guild mission, Yuri. Rita hired you to be her body guard to the tavern." He said with a smile, "It's kind of dangerous out so it should be a piece of cake for you!"

"You make it sound like I like going into dangerous places." Yuri sighed.

Rita decided she'd had enough standing around. She stomped over to the ex-knight and grabbed him by his sleeve with a free hand. Yuri was slightly taken aback by her strength as she began dragging him out of the building.

One glance outside the town was enough to prove Karol's warning true. Dahngrest had a new ominous air about it. The streets appeared darker than usual and more empty. Anyone that was in the general area looked much tougher than the usual muscle-heads that roamed the streets. Yuri stood straight as soon as he was released. He gripped the sash around his sword tighter as he surveyed the area.

"This doesn't look so bad. You can easily kick these guy's asses, Rita." he sighed, turning his focus on the girl next to him. Rita gripped her bag tighter, the paper crunching loudly in the quiet street. She refused to look at him—or even in his general direction for that matter. Yuri raised an eyebrow, resting his elbow on top of her head. "Don't tell me you lost your ability to fight, now." he teased.

"Stop touching me!" Rita roared, squirming away from him, "I haven't lost my touch, ok? I can kick anyone's ass that tries to touch me!"

"Then why did you drag me out here with you?" Yuri asked, folding his arms. He smirked playfully, crouching down to her height to look her in the eye. When she turned away, he gripped her chin and turned her face back to his. "It can't be that you want to spend time with me, is it~?"

Secretly, he had hoped it was a yes. Rita had proved to be quite entertaining to be around, after all. He was still on the edge about her as well. Damn the fine line that bordered on friendship and love.

"O-of course not!" she stuttered, pulling away from him, "I just wanted a little extra protection is all!"

Yuri pulled her right back. He wasn't done teasing her just yet. "I thought you said you could kick anyone's ass. Why would you need my protection?"

Her face changed seven different expressions in about a second. She stuttered gibberish as she tried to focus her thoughts. This sealed it for him. Rita always did this when she had been backed into a corner. "You do want to spend more time with me, don't you?" he grinned.

Rita countered by slapping his hand off her chin and storming off. "F-forget it then!"

Yuri snickered to himself before trotting along behind her. Rita was determined to stay ahead of him and walked faster down the streets. He quickly passed her by, whistling nonchalantly. Rita scoffed and walked even faster, just barely passing him up. Yuri took longer strides, passing her once more. He stopped suddenly, giving her a knowing smirk as she marched right past him…and into the Tavern door. Rita stood stunned for a second, as this is the second time she was too distracted to watch where she was going. She growled at him before gripping the handle and pushing on the door. It didn't budge. Rita tried again to no avail.

"Why won't this stupid…fucking…door…open?" she screamed, throwing her whole shoulder into the wood.

Yuri waited patiently for her to give up making the door budge. She stepped back, panting and slightly foaming at the mouth. He slithered his way in between the mage and the door, put his hand on the handle and pulled it open with ease. He received a death glare before she stomped through the threshold, slamming the door shut behind her.

"…You're welcome!" Yuri yelled into the door.


	3. Hidden in Shadow

Yuri spent the entire day lounging around the City of Guilds with his trusted companion Repede. Judith had taken the jobs for the day, claiming she needed to stretch her legs. Karol took it upon himself to train all the new recruits, leaving the oldest guild member to his own devices. He decided to take this time to wander with his pet. Karol was right about it being dangerous. Just looking at someone was enough to get you into a fight. Yuri's thoughts on how the town came to be so hazardous were interrupted by Repede's barks.

"What is it?" he asked his canine partner.

Repede crouched down and brought his lips over his gums in a loud snarl. Yuri instinctively threw his scabbard to the side, pointing his blade in the direction of whatever Repede found. He blinked a couple times. There didn't seem to be anything there. Only a couple of shadows amidst the already dark streets. Repede barked twice before dropping his pipe and pulling the dagger that was strapped to his shoulder out of its sheath. The dog was never wrong when it came to fighting the enemy.

"I know you're there. Why not show yourselves?" Yuri said in a low voice.

A few minutes of silence passed before the shadows themselves morphed into cloaked human-like objects. They swayed back and forth slowly, as if they weren't human.

"So these guys must be the cause of all the dark and creepy shit around here." Yuri muttered under his breath. The figures made no move to attack. They simply moved back, trying to once again melt into the darkness.

"Oh no you don't…"

Yuri darted forward with Repede after the shadowy people. He reached out to grab one with his free hand and was taken aback as his hand fazed through the body of the closest figure. It was as if he was grabbing at smoke. The thing turned and the hidden face of a human caught his gaze for a second. The figure next to it emitted a small red light. Yuri froze up. He knew that kind of glow…

It wasn't long before a swift blade of wind sliced through the air, knocking both guild members backwards. Repede hit the cobblestone road with a yelp before returning to his feet. When Yuri got up a second later, the shadow-people were gone. He ran into the alleyway they were in moments before in pursuit. Repede ran ahead, his ears preicked for the slightest hint of movement. The dog slowed to a stop and glued his noe to the ground. He whined as he turned to look at his master, the scent trail gone.

"Repede, it's not like you to lose the trail like that." Yuri said, stopping next to his partner.

Repede whined and barked again, almost apologetically. Yuri knelt down and placed his hand on the dogs head. "It's ok though, Repede. You tried your best."

Another red glow caught his attention from the corner of his eye. Yuri looked up just in time to see large orbs of fire charging straight for him. The fire hit its target, sending him and Repede flying out of the alleyway and into the streets. Yuri stared at the dancing stars above his head. They were quite sparkly…

"…If you're drunk, I'm going to kill you."

Yuri came to his senses. He blinked a couple times and found an annoyed-looking Rita standing over him. He couldn't help but blush just slightly from her outfit. It was obvious she had just gotten off her shift and hadn't bothered to change back into her usual messy tunic. She rolled her eyes and knelt next to him, a determined look on her face. She placed her hands on his open shirt and pulled it open. Rita was famously known for being bluntly forward, but this was too much.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing?" he said quickly, moving away from her.

"Fine. Don't let me look at your injury." She huffed, turning to face Repede, "The dog looks hurt too. Mind filling me on on what happened?"

Yuri opened his mouth to explain about the strange shadow people he saw in the alley when a high voice cut him off. "Rita! Yuri! Repede!"

The three turned to find a very happy Karol running towards them, Judith trailing behind at her own pace. She held her treasured Brionac in one gloved hand, which Yuri assumed was the cause of the lack of tough guys around. Judith had made a strong reputation for herself in the few months the guild had been around in Dahngrest. Hardly anyone would challenge her. Natrually, the strange shadow people Yuri encountered would be smart enough to shy away as well. Something about them didn't feel right.

"…aceing out and pay attention?"

Yuri blinked and came back to reality. He was met with a very annoyed Rita, a snickering Judith and a patiently waiting Karol.

"Geez, Yuri, you're sure spacing out a lot lately." The tiny guild leader commented.

He gave a small nervous laugh, playing it off as a normal thing. His gaze drifted to the angered cosplaying cat…wait, had she always stood that close to him?

"What the hell are you looking at?" Rita snapped, giving him a death glare that would have killed a horse. Yuri immediately looked away. Everything about the mage was adorable…except for that rage. He wanted to avoid all contact with an angered Rita as much as humanly possible.

"Guys, I'm trying to make an announcement!" Karol yelled, stomping his foot on the ground, "Can you pay attention for five minutes?"

"Oh, I am. But I'm not sure the lovebirds are." Judith chimed in.

Her comment forced Rita's face to flush a bright red and Yuri's cheeks to pink. Rita shook a fist at the Krityan. "Me? With him? Yeah right! Th-that's just as disgusting as…the Old Fart!" She proceeded to cross her arms and turn her back to them all, tapping her foot on the road. Yuri couldn't help but stare. She looked so much like an angry cat, especially with her still in uniform. He was waiting expectantly for the tail that hung off her belt to start twitching and whipping around.

Karol cleared his throat. "Now, back to my announcement…" he said loudly, "Brave Vesperia is taking a vacation. I left the guild in the hands of some new recruits as part of training."

"Oh that sounds lovely. Where are we vacationing to?" Judith asked sweetly, clasping her gloved hands together around the handle of Brionac.

"Estelle asked us to go visit her in Halure! So I said it would be just ok!" Karol said happily, throwing a fist in the air, "Besides, it's been a few months since we've seen her."

The mere mention of the princess's name forced both Yuri and Rita to freeze up. It wasn't any big secret. Rita had a crush on Estelle. And Estelle had a crush on Yuri. This was definitely going to cause problems.

* * *

><p>Yuri reclined against the railing aboard the Fiertia, inhaling deeply as Ba'ul took them ever closer to the City of Blossoms. At first, he praised the dragon's speed and flying ability. Now he cursed it. It wasn't that Estelle was a bad person. Sure, she was ditzy and naive, but those were good parts. He figured her to be a doting mother, the way she took care of him and the rest of their group. Other times, a sister to help out whenever she got in trouble. And he knew she wanted more from him. That speech she gave the night before the final fight nestled itself in his brain and made itself comfy.<p>

_"And I'll be able to stay with everyone. With you."_

He closed his eyes and furrowed his brow. Guild work had done a good job of separating him from her these past 7 months. Maybe she would have forgotten by now. No, that wouldn't be the case. She may have been dimwitted when it came to fighting and world affairs, but her memory was sharp as a tack. Yuri felt something warm rub against him. He opened one eye to see his faithful companion sitting next to him, expertly holding his pipe under his tongue as he yawned. Repede turned to look at him with his single eye.

"…You know what's on my mind, don't you, Repede?" Yuri asked with a small smile.

The dog just stared at him before giving a slow huff. He closed his eye for a while and rested his chin on Yuri's arm. Yuri used his free arm to idly pet and scratch behind his ears.

"I bet you're thrilled to see Estelle, huh?" he asked with a small laugh.

Repede made an annoyed noise and opened his eye to look at him. Yuri laughed. "Yeah…me too." He idly pet Repede for a few before turning his gaze to the underbelly of the dragon above them. "…Repede, you don't have any problems with this, do you?"

The dog whined a bit, obviously concerned for his master's well-being. He gave him a look before moving up to lick his cheek. Yuri chuckled, roughly rubbing Repede's head. "I'll be careful, don't worry." He smiled.

From the bow, a very excited Karol darted to where he and Repede sat. "Yuri, Yuri! We're there!" he called happily.

Yuri slowly sat up, Repede moving to stand by his side. "Alright, I hear you!" he said with a small laugh. He gripped the railing as the Fiertia began to descend to the field around Halure. He was so focused on planning on how to let her down easily, he didn't notice the extra bump as the ship landed in the field. He didn't notice the small band of shadows that gathered just out of sight in a nearby patch of trees.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry for a delay on this chapter. I haven't written something with plot in three years, so bear with me a bit here. ^^; Also, college. 'Nuff said. I hope this is enough to keep you guys happy. And thank you so much for all the reviews and love. I really appreciate it. ='3**


	4. City of Blossoming Love

Ba'ul took off with a roar, sending the guild members into a whirlwind. As soon as the mega gush of wind was over, a single name uttered by a high-pitched voice cut through what little silence was left.

"Yuri!"

A flash of blue and pink darted by and Yuri was tackled to the ground. He was able to let out a single yell of surprise before cracking his skull on a small stone.

"Yuri! Oh, I missed you so much!" the excited princess squealed, nuzzling into his open chest, "It feels like it's been forever! Are you ok? Have you been eating alright?"

The questions flew out of her mouth at high speeds. With the splitting headache on top of the overly excited woman on top of him as well as her millions of questions, he was finding it extremely difficult to focus.

"…Estelle, please get off of me." Yuri said calmly.

"Oh…oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" Estelle squeaked, immediately jumping off the older man. It was now she turned to see her old friends. "Everyone! You're all here too!"

Yuri sat up and rubbed the back of his head, searching for a lump. He watched the princess hug each of her friends in turn. Except, strangely, for Rita. The mage shied away from Estelle, mumbling something about not wanting to be touched. And, as always, Repede ignored her and stayed as far away as possible from her. Estelle tried to put her disappointment aside and turned to face all her friends.

"Come on! I want to show you guys my home!" she said excitedly, starting to run backwards into Halure.

The young woman tripped over a very inconveniently placed rock and began to fall backwards. She was caught before long by a small object.

"Oomph! Big Sis Estelle, you really should watch where you're going, nanoja."

Estelle got back on her toes and turned to reveal a slightly messed up Patty Fleur fixing her hat. She gave an annoyed pout before turning to look at all her friends.

"Patty! I was just about to show everyone home!" Estelle smiled, clasping her hands together.

The young pirate, however, wasn't listening. "YURI DARLING!" she yelled, darting to the ex-knight. Yuri tried and failed to escape the quick little girl. She ran into him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Oh how I've missed you, sweetie!" Patty mewed, nuzzling into his stomach.

She was knocked off him by a swift karate chop. Rita rubbed her hand and gave a huff before turning away. "…It wasn't for you. She was getting annoying." She stated, keeping her eyes far away from him.

"Oh, that was so cute of you, Rita. Getting all jealous like that." Judith mused, folding her arms.

"Jealous? Why would Rita be jealous?" Estelle asked, tilting her head to the side.

The Krityan woman just smirked and began heading into town. "I would love to see your house, Estelle."

The princess brightened up, completely forgetting the last few moments. "Oh, yes! I'll show you! This way! Come on, Yuri!"

Yuri sighed as she grabbed his hand and began pulling him along. The rest of their group tagged along behind the excited princess. Yuri could feel something burning into his back. He turned his head to look for the source and immediately found two green orbs boring into him. He shook his hand free from Estelle's in hopes of making the stare from the angry feline dissipate. He succeeded in getting a saddened look from Estelle, but not in getting Rita to calm down. She stayed as angry as ever, her eyes piercing his very soul. It was enough to send a chill up his spine. He shuddered slightly before turning back forward to focus on the path.

It took the group a few minutes to hike through the busy streets of Halure, as well as see clearly through the constant blizzard of Luluria Petals. Estelle ran forward ahead of them and spread her arms.

"This is it!" she exclaimed happily.

Resting atop a small hill behind her was a large white mansion with sly blue roofs. The house was dusted with the flower petals decoratively, as if they were meant to be there all along.

"W-wow! Estelle, it's so pretty!" Karol cried jumping in the air.

Estelle giggled and grabbed for Yuri's hand once more. He reacted quickly this time and started walking towards her front door, just barely evading her grasp. "Looks nice, Estelle." He commented.

Estelle's face fell slightly before perking back up as she led the way to her home. She grabbed his hand before he had a chance to move it and held tight to prevent escape. Yuri sighed and let her have her way. There wasn't much to be gained by fighting her anyway. She talked about Flynn helping her move in, and letting the homeless Patty stay with her. Yuri tuned her out about halfway through. He nodded occasionally to pretend he was still paying complete attention to her tales. He kept stealing glances at Rita. Yep. Still pissed as ever. But with each glance, he couldn't help but wonder…was that death glare really aimed at him? Sure, it was in his direction when she wasn't focused on Patty, taunting her about being in her work uniform. A small part of him hoped she really was jealous of Estelle. He wiped that out of his mind. There was no possible way she could have some sort of feelings for him. It was just a one-sided circle, with the three's focus in a loop.

"…ote a story and it was a big hit! Would you like to read it, Yuri?" Estelle finished, looking at him with bright, hopeful eyes.

It took a few seconds for reality to sink in. When it did, he shook his head and waved his hand, as if to shoo away the idea. "Nah, not interested. I don't care for reading, you know that." he said.

"Oh…but, what if I read it to you?" Estelle suggested, putting her slight disappointment from his answer aside.

"No, it's alright, Estelle. I'll just believe you." He smiled.

The princess pouted and puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. "Why won't you acknowledge my efforts?" she whined, throwing a small hissy fit.

"I don't like books, they're stupid." He replied simply.

From out of nowhere, a large blunt object was launched at him and nailed him squarely in the side of the head. Yuri staggered slightly, almost falling over on the concrete porch steps. The thud of the object told him it was a heavy book and he looked up in anger at his attacker. He froze as he saw his attacker. Rita had never looked more enraged in the entire time he knew her. And she got scary angry in their travels. Enough to install a small bit of fear in him from time to time.

"Don't you EVER…call books stupid!" she roared, "Books are not stupid! Do you have any idea how much information can be in a book? Those books have helped me since I was a kid and you just carelessly call them stupid? You're the stupid one!"

The group went silent, all eyes on the angered young mage. The silence was broken by Karol whispering to Judith. "Someone's a little book-psycho…"

"I heard that, you little brat!" Rita yelled, starting to chase after him. Karol fled for his life into Estelle's mansion. After all, she did come close to killing him multiple times on their travels.

Estelle chased after them, crying out for the two to stop fighting. Yuri sighed and picked up the book Rita threw at him. He'd deliver it to her later.

"Aww, that wasn't a good move, making her angry like that."

Judith had her arms crossed, her half-lidded eyes smiling playfully at the raven-haired male. "Now what are you going to do about our little kitten? She won't want to talk to you for a while."

"She will if she wants this book back." He said coolly, waving the spell book slightly.

"Using bait, are you? And here I thought you'd just man-up and talk to her. You're a sneaky one, Yuri." The Krityan mused, settling her weight on one foot.

"If it'll work, I'll use it." He shrugged.

Judith simply laughed to herself before entering the large mansion. Repede gave a bark and followed her in. The last to enter was Yuri, his thoughts on getting the book back to Rita interrupted by the sparkly inside of the entrance hall. Everything was pearl white and polished so it sparkled. Two large sets of curved staircases greeted him first, the handrails trimmed in gold. From above, a large chandelier seemed to hover above the pale red and white tiled floor, reflecting in it perfectly. It truly reflected a nobles status. In the center of the grand entranceway, an amused Judith watched Rita chase Karol in circles around Estelle, who was obviously in a state of distress. Her arms were up and reached out occasionally to stop the raging mage in vain. Her whimpers were barely audible over Karols screaming and Rita's swearing.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry, ok!" the little boy yelled, breaking formation to duck behind Yuri.

"You better be! Move, Yuri!" Rita hissed, stopping in front of the older male, "I gotta teach this kid a lesson!"

Yuri folded his arms and planted his feet firmly on the floor. "No can do, little miss. The Captain is my boss, and I can't let such a violent person harm him."

Rita growled and uttered some inaudible curse before storming off outside. Estelle began to chase after her. "Wait, Rita!" she called.

Yuri stuck an arm out and caught Estelle by the shoulder to stop her. She gave him a confused look which he returned with a smile.

"I'll go bring her back. It's getting dangerous out again, and I wouldn't want to see you get hurt." He said, releasing her.

Estelle's cheeks pinked and she silently nodded, taking Karol by the hand and leading him back to the center of the room. "I'll go get lunch ready. Be back soon then, ok?" she smiled.

Yuri saluted her before spinning around and walking out the door. He sighed before beginning his search. Rita was quite the handful when she got mad. A small voice in the back of his mind whispered deviously to him: _You can control her easily if you let me loose…_

He growled to himself, trying to get that thought out of his mind. There was no way he could do that. After all, she was still just a kid. An adorable kid, at that. One that just seemed to brighten his day, no matter what. His hand ventured to the spell book he placed in his shirt for safekeeping. Maybe he'd start giving books more of a chance. It wasn't a bad option, considering how she blew up earlier. But that was for a later time. Right now, his main goal was to find the teen mage and calm her down enough to bring her back to Estelle's mansion. He began heading off to the large tree that was the focal point and center of the whole town. Whenever they stopped by Halure, and Rita was upset, she always took off to the tree. As he approached the large ancient tree, his hunch was right. Rita was sitting on one of the enlarged roots, staring up into the branches. Yuri felt his heart rate pick up a bit as he approached her. Those goddamn cat ears…

"Hey." He greeted, setting the book on her head, "You forgot this."

She scooted away from him, making the book fall. He caught it quickly and waved it back and forth. "Is that any way to treat a kindly act?" he asked, teasing her.

Rita grabbed for her book, but Yuri pulled it away just as her fingertips graced the cover. The game of keep-away went on for a good minute before Rita growled and pounced. Yuri nimbly dodged her attack, making her fall face first into a small pile of collected petals. He blushed slightly when he noticed her skirt had been flipped. So there were cats there too, huh…?

Rita scrambled to her feet, her face a vibrant red. Her body shook with rage and embarrassment. "Give me…my book back…now." She snarled, reaching out to grab it once more.

Yuri raised an eyebrow, moving the book out of her reach again. "Why? Is there something special in this?" He opened the book to a random page slowly, a playful look on his face. "It's not a kind of diary, is it~?"

Rita was frozen in place, her eyes wide with fear. She let out a roar and tried once again to get her book back. Yuri laughed and closed it before holding it above his head.

"You gotta be nice. Then you'll have your little book back." He grinned.

Rita repetitively clenched and unclenched her hands as her brain tried to decide what to do. The male waited patiently, keeping that smug look on his face. Eventually, Rita opened her mouth.

"…Please give me my book back."

"Aww, that doesn't work. You gotta look nice too." Yuri grinned.

Rita took a few deep breaths before straightening up. She placed her hands in front of her properly and looked up at him with large, slightly watery eyes. "Yuri, can I please have my book back?" she asked in the sweetest tone she could manage.

He was slightly taken aback by her tone and posture. There was no way he could say no to that face. He handed the book back to her with a smile. "That's better."

Before the tome completely changed hands, Yuri bent over and planted a kiss on her cheek. He straightened up to see a frozen solid Rita, her face redder than ever. She stood there, dumbstruck, as if she was frozen to stone. It took everything he had to not burst out into laughter from her reaction. Not only was one of the funniest things he had ever seen, but it was also extremely adorable. He idly started to play with one of her cat ears until she decided to go back to normal. A few minutes passed before she blinked rapidly and smacked his hand away.

"L-leave me alone, you idiot." She growled.

"No can do. I have orders to bring you back to Estelle's place." he said, lightly tapping her on the nose.

Rita rubbed her nose where he touched it, grumbling under her breath. "W-well I'm not going back. Not until you're gone." She huffed.

Yuri frowned. He grabbed her by her waist and scooped her up bridal style. "I told you, I have orders." He said simply, starting back to the manor.

Rita struggled for a good while, shouting, swearing and calling him names. It wasn't long before she gave up. He had no plans on releasing her just yet, after all. She leaned against him and exhaled sharply. "…You're an idiot. A big stupid idiot."

He smirked and continued on his way, holding her a bit tighter. "I think 'stupid' and 'idiot' are a little redundant." He commented as the two approached the mansion.

"Fuck you." Rita grumbled.

He laughed and set her down on the porch, moving to open the door for them. He was stopped by her hand grabbing onto his sleeve. Yuri turned with a confused look on his face.

"…Thanks for bringing that back." Rita mumbled.

Then, doing something he never would have expected her of all people to do, Rita gave him a quick hug before entering the manor. He blinked a couple times, stunned by the small action. The front door opened again, Rita's face poking through the crack.

"You coming in or what?" she asked, a slightly annoyed look on her face.

He smiled and walked in after her. The door shut and everything seemed like it would work out. That is, until a swarm of shadow steadily approached the house, leaving a red carpet of blood in their wake.


	5. In Danger

The front hallway was empty, all his companions missing from the room. Instead, a warm familiar smell replaced them. It was enough to make his stomach growl. From the right hallway, a small blue blur rushed by and skidded to a halt in front of him.

"Yuri dear, we're all waiting in the kitchen for you, nanoja!" Patty said excitedly, tugging on his shirt, "Come on come on! Big Sis worked hard on lunch for all of you!"

"Yes, Patty, I'm going." He said with a small smile.

The young pirate squealed with joy and grabbed his hand before dragging him through the hallway to the dining hall. Everyone was there, waiting for him patiently at a large table that rivaled the size of the ones in the royal cafeteria. As soon as she saw him, Estelle leapt from her chair and darted to him.

"Yay, you're joining us after all, Yuri!" she said happily, clasping her hands up by her neck, "I'm so happy! I really hope you like lunch. After all, Flynn said my cooking improved lots!" She escorted him to the table, placing him at a seat between her and Patty…and conveniently across from Rita. The young mage avoided his gaze. Oh well. At least he could kick her easier to piss her off. Once satisfied that everyone was in their proper place, Estelle beamed over her friends as if they were her children and skipped off to grab the meal.

Patty had one hand gripped onto Yuri's sleeve and she wriggled playfully in her chair. She told him of quests she went on with the crew she was rebuilding from recruits in Halure. Even though she had regained her memories and no longer regarded him as her future husband, old habits take a while to die. So she continued to snuggle into his side from time to time as she went on and on about her stories. Yuri tuned her out, focusing instead on the elaborate painting that stared down at him from the ceiling. It was of the Public and Royal Quarters of Zaphias. And off to one side, a small hint of the streets into his home, the Lower Quarter. He felt a small bout of homesickness as he stared at the ceiling. He hadn't been home since he worked with Karol on making Brave Vesperia big.

"Yuri! Yuri dearest, wake up!"

A dull metal object lightly tapped him on the shoulder, and Yuri was pulled from his thoughts. Patty held her binoculars in her hand and looked up at him with her sparkling blue eyes.

"Oh good. I thought you were a zombie, nanoja." She said with a big smile.

"Well he does lack brains." Rita smirked, keeping her gaze on the kitchen door.

Just as Yuri was about to kick her shin, the kitchen door opened up and Estelle emerged, struggling to hold two large trays in her small arms. "I…I got it, guys!" she called, her peppy voice strained from carrying the load.

"E-Estelle! I'll help you!" Rita said quickly, leaping from her chair.

She took one step and stopped. Yuri was already there by her, catching each tray nimbly in one hand and her with the other.

"Th…thank you…" she mumbled, her cheeks a bright red.

"It's no problem." He grinned, "Just be a little more careful next time. If you need help, say so."

He set her upright and took a tray from her hands and carried it to the table. He couldn't help but notice each ornate plate had the exact same thing on it.

"Estelle…did you make six plates of Curry?" Yuri asked, looking back at her.

The princess glided over to the table and began placing the curry before each of her friends. "Yeah, I did. After all, it was the first recipe I mastered. And…" she looked away as she found her way back to her seat, "I knew it was your favorite, Yuri."

"Well I appreciate it." He smiled, sitting back in his seat. He was slightly hesitant to start eating, even though his stomach growled loudly. He cautiously picked up his spoon and scooped up a small portion of curry. Estelle was never allowed to cook when they traveled the world. After the spicy cake she made on their way to Nordopolica the first time, everyone voted that she would never cook again. So of course he was cautious. Yuri brought the food to his lips, said a quick prayer, and ate.

The amount of full flavor surprised him at first. This actually tasted like real food! He took another bite to prove he wasn't dreaming. Nope. This was the real deal. "Estelle, this is really good!" he praised, starting to pig out.

"Estelle, can I have more?" Karol asked, holding up his plate.

Estelle giggled and got up to fix him another plate of food. "I'm so happy you guys like it." She smiled before re-entering the kitchen.

The group spent the next few minutes eating while Estelle happily watched over them like a mother hen. Occasionally she would get up to clean someone's face or replace a plate with another helping. She even went so far as to make a plate for Repede, who had taken residence in a corner away from them. The dog ignored her and only ate when she was sitting back in her seat. Estelle approached him to take his plate when he suddenly began to growl at her. The hairs on his shoulders stood on end as he prepped himself for a fight. Estelle stepped back, scared and confused by the dog's actions.

"R-Repede?" she asked cautiously.

The dog jumped around her and began running toward the entrance, growling the whole way. Patty leapt up from her chair and began chasing after him to see what the problem was. "H-hold on, Repede!" she called, holding her hat as she ran as fast as her legs would take her.

The rest of the group stood as well before following the best friends out. As soon as they reached the front hallway, they were met with a loud explosion and the injured cries of Patty and Repede. The two had been blasted back into the corresponding wall, leaving small craters in the plaster. Patty adjusted her hat, showing a bit of blood trickling down her petit face. Repede jumped to his paws and darted to Yuri's side, his dagger between his bared fangs. The smoke cleared, revealing five dark hooded figures. The hood of one moved around, as if the one inside were looking for something important. It stopped as its apparent gaze rested on Estelle. One pale slender hand poked out from the robes and pointed at her.

"…That's her. The Rizomata subject." It said in a voice barely a whisper.

Yuri readied himself for battle, his scabbard clattering on the floor far away from them.

"I don't know who you freaks are, but you got another thing coming if you think you can just bust into someone's house like this." He growled.

The cloaked figures rushed for Estelle all at once like a pack of wolves targeting a sick injured buck. Yuri, Karol and Judith all leapt in front of her to protect her, each one fighting off the figures to their best extent.

"Watch out, guys. These things don't seem to be human." Yuri warned, slashing at one that nimbly dodged.

"What do you mean?" Judith asked, barely missing one of them with the hilt of her spear.

"I mean, they're not—" he was interrupted by a cry of surprise from Karol. "WAAAAAHH! My axe just went right through this one!"

The figures stopped their attack, retreating silently. "The one with the heart isn't here. Grab the Rizomata subject for now." Their voices hissed like snakes in their low hoarse tone. All five of them retreated back to the doorway, seeming to melt in with each other. The closest one to the group emitted a small red light and a surge of water burst forth out of nowhere. The small tidal wave smacked into Yuri and Karol, sending the two flying. Another glow and a barrage of rocks flew towards Rita. At the same time, a large orb of flame shot towards Estelle. Yuri reacted and leapt in harm's way…protecting Rita. He fell to one knee from the searing pan, turning to make sure Rita was ok. The teen was unresponsive, staring intently at the figures. Judith had managed to divert the fireball and protected Estelle. She smirked before returning to the fray. Just as it seemed Estelle would get snatched up, three gunshots rang out. One of the cloaked figures cried and crumpled to the floor. A small bit of blood dripped from under the fabric. The rest of them froze.

"You stay away from Big Sis Estelle!" Patty cried, cocking her pistol, "Or next time, I'll aim for your heads."

The shadows retreated slowly before vanishing out the broken front door. Yuri stood, panting and looked over at his friends.

"Is everyone alright?" he asked.

Judith, Karol, Repede and Patty all answered him in happy tones. Rita stayed silent, staring out the door. Estelle avoided him, choosing to shy away. He tried to approach her, but she kept a good distance, finding the floor extremely fascinating. "Yuri…you…" she mumbled.

"What the hell were those? It's like they weren't even human!" Karol cried.

"Those things were human alright…" Rita said quietly, "Those guys are mages. And I think they were from Aspio."

The room went silent for a few as Rita's words sunk in. "How can you tell, nanoja?" Patty asked innocently.

"I used to have something that looked a lot like that. Except normal and not all weird." The genius explained, "That and the way they used magic…those were definitely Aspioians. But what puzzles me is how they were able to use magic. Estelle, you didn't hear Undine, Gnome or Efreet say anything about using their powers, did you?'

Estelle looked at her friend, thinking hard. "No…I definitely would have felt their presence." She said.

Yuri clenched his free hand into a fist. "So then let's chase after these bastards and give them a little talking to."

He started for the door, Karol yelling in agreement and following on his heels. Repede, Judith, Estelle and Patty followed suit, leaving Rita with her thoughts. "That light though…no, it couldn't be." She mumbled to herself before running out.

The sound of two high-pitched screams cut through the silence that blanketed Halure. Rita came to a halt, her eyes widening at the scene before her. Judith, Karol and Yuri stood in the middle of the road, too dumbstruck to move. Estelle had fallen to the ground, her body shaking from crying. Patty and Repede wandered ahead. The small pirate cursed and cried as she stumbled around.

The path before them was littered with bodies.

The city looked like a morbid Christmas tree with bodies as ornaments and blood as tinsel. Everywhere the group looked there were more and more bodies. Men, women, children….the entire city district had been slaughtered like cattle. Not even the animals were safe, for Repede himself had begun mourning over a dog carcass.

"This is some messed up shit…" Yuri exhaled. His mind could barely comprehend what was going on. Just half an hour ago the city was so friendly and peaceful. Everyone was alive. Everyone was happy. The shock wore off and Yuri went into defense mode.

"We should get out of here. They could still be around." He said in a low voice.

"Y-yes…that would be best." Estelle agreed, getting to her feet, "Patty…Patty come back here."

The pirate was lost in her own world as she staggered around the bodies and pools of blood. She mumbled half-sentences, kneeling down by random bodies. "My crew… Altan…John…Riea…you can't be gone…"

Estelle's body shook as she made her way over to Patty. She placed a gentle hand on the young girls shoulder. Patty turned and embraced Estelle, crying into her stomach. The pink-haired teen embraced her and whispered calming words to her.

"…That's why I recognized it." Rita said, "Blastia. They used blastia."

"But how? All the blastia have been wiped out!" Karol whined.

"They must have made more. But what's puzzling me is where they got them from." The mage mumbled to herself.

"I heard them say something about 'one with the heart'…" Judith chimed in, stepping closer to the mage.

Estelle perked up and she exclaimed, "Raven!"

The group went silent. It was true. Raven's heart was the only blastia not taken and could be valuable to anyone who was defying the odds and continue to use them.

"Does that mean…Raven's in danger?" Karol asked shakily.

"Sounds like it." Yuri added.

"No! No, we have to save him, nanoja!" Patty cried, "We have to! Raven and I are The Funny Dynamic Duo! Without him, it's just The Funny Dynamic Uno! And I don't want to be alone again, nanoja…"

"I know Raven's still working in the castle…" Estelle thought aloud.

"And I've seen him with Altosk too." Karol added.

"So we split up, nanoja! We have to make sure he's ok!" Patty exclaimed worriedly.

Yuri clapped a hand on Karol's head. "I'm going with the Boss here, and of course Repede's going with me."

"And I'm going with Big Sis Estelle!" Patty mewed, gripping the princess's dress.

"I guess that just leaves Rita and I to pick which side we go on." Judith mused.

"Judith should come with us." Estelle said quickly.

The Krityan woman smirked and folded her arms. "Do I detect a hint of jealousy?" she asked in a slight singing tone.

"N-no!" Estelle stuttered, "I just…I thought it would be safer if we traveled by Ba'ul!"

"But we're already so close to Zaphias." She teased.

Estelle went silent, brooding for a moment. She had made it obvious that she was jealous of Judith being around Yuri all the time, and for her curvy figure. Even Yuri could pick up on it. "…You're just coming with me. End of story." She pouted.

"Then Rita's with us!" Karol said happily.

"Yippee." A very unenthusiastic Rita grumbled.

The two groups formed and parted ways after good-byes and through the sea of corpses that was Halure. Estelle's was exceptionally long, as she had to embrace each of the opposite team dearly. It was Patty who eventually pulled her off of Yuri and through the streets to the nearest exit. Yuri watched them leave before looking over at his little group. "To Danghrest?" he asked.

Karol cheered and began running off, Repede on his heels. Yuri walked over to Rita and held out his arm. "Shall we, m'lady?" he asked in a teasing manner.

The brunette huffed and marched off, careful to not step in any blood. Yuri sighed and caught up with her, walking alongside her. He kept his eyes on Karol and Repede on the horizon as they navigated their way to the exit. So, naturally, he didn't notice Rita's gloved hand slowly waver back and forth in the gap between them until he felt her skin on his. He looked over and found her to be determinedly staring straight ahead with a beet-red blush on her cheeks. He followed her arm down with his eyes to see she had his wrist lightly gripped in her fingertips.

"You know, you can be really cute when you want to be." He smiled.

"Shut up." Rita growled. She gripped him a bit tighter, almost curling her whole hand around his wrist. Yuri smirked and looked forward again to Karol, who had stopped and waved to them.

"Sorry, I retract that statement." He said calmly. He waited until the "Hmph!" of approval from Rita before continuing. "Even if you don't try, I still find you very cute."

That was it for her. Rita let out an annoyed noise before throwing his arm aside. She marched forward to catch up, leaving him far behind. Yuri just smirked at her back. He wasn't giving up yet. Oh no. This was just the beginning.


	6. Thoughts and Play

The sun had nearly completely set as The Brave Vesperia group reached the outskirts of Ehmead Hill. The blue-ish grey hue of Twilight hovered over the travelers. A very exhausted Karol zigzagged before flopping on the ground against a tree trunk. "Guys…let's…let's rest for a bit." He panted.

The group had been traveling non-stop since they left Halure earlier that afternoon. The previous events at the city had left them all drained, not to mention the random monster attacks they suffered as they made their way to Nor piled onto the existing fatigue.

"For once…I agree with the kid." Rita grumbled, taking her own seat in a rather large patch of grass. Her stomach rumbled which caused her to curl up, holding her stomach out of embarrassment.

"You pig, you just ate a snack not too long ago!" Karol exclaimed, sitting up.

"Shut up!" Rita retorted, "At least I'm not some stupid brat that snacks on all our gels!"

Yuri sighed as he tried to start up a fire. Without blastia, this was much harder than before. "Guys, can you stop the arguing and set up a campsite?" he asked tiredly.

"Nuh-uh. I'm not helping that gel thief set up anything." The young mage said defiantly.

Yuri snapped one of the twigs he was setting up for kindling. "Remember our little chat about kicking you out?" he asked.

Rita groaned and got up. She started gathering wood and other small flammable items. Karol helped as well, using his oversized axe to clear some overgrown trees. When Rita dropped her find next to Yuri—who had by now managed to get a fire going—he reached up and ruffled her hair with a "Good kitty."

"I'm not your pet." She growled, walking away.

"Aww, but you look just like one."

The caused the brunette to stop dead in her tracks. This was true. She didn't have enough time to change out of her waitress uniform before they left for Halure. She let out an exasperated growl before storming off to the other end of the campsite. Yuri smirked and returned to tending the small fire he created. That was totally worth it.

After a small dinner of what food was in their item bag, the group settled around their campfire for the night.

"Hey, Rita, can you explain a bit more about what you said earlier? You know, about the people from before?" Karol asked, scooting a bit closer to her.

The mage looked up from her spell book and closed it slowly. "What more do you need to know?" she asked, her tone slightly bitter.

"I for one would like to know where they're getting those blastia from." Yuri commented, taking a seat next to her, "You did say they were using them, right?" Rita moved away from him slightly. She unclasped her red notebook from around her neck and tossed it to him.

"My ideas are in there." she said, opening her spell book once more.

Yuri caught the small book and turned it to a random page. He stared at the letters for a moment before frowning and tilting the book sideways. He rotated it a complete 360 degrees before tossing it back at her. "I can't read it." He grumbled.

"What are you, illiterate?" Rita asked, catching her notes in one hand.

Karol decided to crawl over and snatch the book out of her hand. The brunette protested but Karol managed to keep the book away from her. "What the-? Is this even Ispanian?" he cried. The young boy handed the book back to her with a small grin. "Your handwriting sucks."

Rita growled and gave him a quick smack to the back of the head to shut him up. The guild leader cried out in pain and held his aching head in his hands. She clipped the notebook back around her neck and cleared her throat.

"Since you two are too big of idiots…" she paused to glare at the two of them, "They might have gotten some leftovers out of the ruins. There were huge buildings in Aspio dedicated to holding millions of blastia."

"But didn't we use them all up against the Adephagos?" Karol asked, tilting his head to the side.

"That's what's confusing me. I'm sure there were even more cores buried in ruins that made it to Tarqaron. With those facts, it would be pretty hard to get your hands on one." Rita continued, "As far as I know, the only blastia core left in the world would be in the old man's chest."

"They didn't already get him, did they?" Karol squeaked.

"I doubt it, Captain. People like him usually don't stay dead." Yuri smirked.

Rita smiled in agreement before looking through her notes once more. "That's the nicer-sounding theory I have. The other one is they hunted down any remaining Entelexia and harvested their Apathea." Her tone turned grim as she spoke. The group went silent as they thought about her words.

"Does that mean they're targeting Ba'ul?" Karol asked meekly.

"How should I know? I'm not one of them." Rita snapped.

"Ba'ul will be fine." Yuri said to assure him, "Judy's a strong woman. She'll be able to protect him."

Satisfied with the answer, the young boy stretched and yawned before flopping over on his back with his arms and legs spread. "Good night." he yawned.

"I'm going to stay up for a bit." Rita announced, flipping to a new page in her spell book. She silently read and mumbled to herself as she went over all the new ideas presented to her in the tome. Yuri stared into the fire, unable to go to sleep. He felt a cold wet object poking his wrist. He looked down to see Repede, staring at him with his singular aqua eye.

"What's up, Repede?" the male asked, sitting back slightly.

He held a small staring contest with the dog until Repede huffed. He motioned with his head off to the side. Yuri followed the direction and found himself looking at the reading Rita. He returned his gaze to the blank face of his dog. "…You know, don't you?" he asked quietly. It didn't matter whether or not he kept his voice low. Karol was snoring away and Rita was so absorbed in her book she couldn't hear him. Repede answered with a small whine and a twist of his pipe.

"I should have figured." Yuri said with a small smile.

Repede gave a soft growl and a quiet bark before staring at him once more.

"Thanks. I know you'll keep a good watch over us." Yuri got up and patted his dog's head before casually making his way over to Rita. He walked around to her side and squatted down next to her. "….Riiitaaaa…" he called.

No response. The mage's entire attention was focused on the book before her. After a few more failed attempts to get her attention, he sighed and plucked the cat ears off the top of her head. This got her to look up in surprise.

"…What the hell are you doing?" she asked as he placed the ears atop his own head.

"I'm a cat." he replied simply, grinning at her, "I like cats."

"Can you stop being an idiot for three seconds?" Rita asked sharply.

He thought for a second, over exaggerating by tilting his torso and placing his hand to his chin. "…Nope. I think I look good in them." He paused for a moment to give her a sly look. "But not as good as you do."

Rita blinked a couple times before blushing and returning to her book. "That's…y-you're stupid." she grumbled.

Yuri chuckled to himself and sat back, grinning at her. Teasing Rita was fun, especially when she got all embarrassed. "What, I can't give out a compliment once in a while?" he asked.

The teen turned back to him. The blush had died down but still lingered on her cheeks. "No, you can't. It's weird." she stated.

Yuri shrugged and looked up into the starry sky. He chuckled to himself before letting himself go limp. He fell over and landed right on the book in Rita's lap. "Wh-what the hell are you doing?" she stuttered.

Yuri stretched with a groan and went limp once more. "Night." he grinned, closing his eyes.

"Yuri, get the fuck off my lap!" Rita yelled, trying to push him away. The ex-knight didn't budge. He started pretending to snore loudly. "You're a real ass, you know that?" Rita growled through clenched teeth.

"I'm not an ass," he started, opening one eye, "Though I do have one."

His response made the young mage growl in exasperation. She clenched her hands into fists and began audibly counting to ten slowly. To further piss her off, Yuri rolled over onto his back and looked up at her with the cutest face he could manage. The action caused her to freeze up. The want to hurt him combated with the urge to let him slide. The end result made her grumble under her breath and sigh.

"Fine. I don't care anymore." she muttered, looking away.

He smiled victoriously and turned to his other side. He wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled into her stomach. The punishment for this would be worth it, in his mind.

"Knock it off!" the now thoroughly pissed Rita roared.

Yuri just held tighter to her, a large grin plastered all over his face. "Nope. I'm sleeping here."

The mage gave a battle cry and focused all of her strength in her right arm and slugged him in the shoulder. The impact was enough to knock him off of her lap. However, since he was still holding tight, she was pulled along as well. She yelled in surprise and toppled over right on him. Far too embarrassed to move, her face turned a deep crimson and she stayed frozen. Yuri looked up at her with mild surprise dancing with playfulness in his black eyes. "Hi." he said with a smile.

Rita struggled to free herself. This resulted in Yuri just holding her tighter. He gave her a sly grin before lifting his neck an inch to kiss her nose. This caught her off guard, rendering her to only be able to blink and blush harder than she already was. Yuri decided enough torture was enough and relaxed his grip on her middle. Rita shakily yet quickly got up and scooted away from him.

"…Jackass." she muttered. Rita huffed and curled up a good distance away from him. "I'm going to sleep. Touch me and you're dead."

The male laughed quietly to himself and placed his hands behind his head. He closed his eyes and soon fell asleep to his own plans on how to tease her next.

* * *

><p>The silence at Deidon Hold was broken by the sounds of night insects singing their melodramatic songs to the heavens and the clanking of the occasional guards' armor as they patrolled the barracks. Estelle stood outside the caravans that stood in place of an inn. She sighed and looked up the the stars that dotted the black night sky.<p>

"Can't sleep?" a quiet sultry voice asked.

Estelle turned to see Judith casually strolling up to her. "No, not really." The princess sighed and looked down at her feet. "I'm just really worried. About everything and everyone."

The Krityan stopped next to her and gave her a slight curious gaze. "I wouldn't worry about Yuri. He's a tough boy."

"H-how could you tell I was worried about Yuri?" Estelle stuttered.

Judith clapped a hand on one of her shoulders. "Estelle…you're like an open book. Easy to read and very entertaining."

Her comment made the pink-haired teen blush and fidget with her gloved hands. "I donno…part of me wants to hit him though." She gasped at her own comment. "Is that bad of me to say?"

Judith chuckled quietly to herself. "No, it's not bad at all. I want to punch him too sometimes." She contained a bigger laugh from the look of pure horror on Estelle's face. "What makes you want to hurt him though, if I may ask."

"Well…back at my house in Halure…" she mumbled, not wanting to remember the scene, "You protected me from an attack. And Yuri…Yuri didn't." She sighed and looked up at Judith. Her aquamarine eyes had begun to water up. "He's always protected me in the past…why didn't he protect me then?"

The Krityan stayed silent. Her smile faded as she contemplated her answer. Telling her rightout that Yuri was more interested in Rita would cut her deep. On the other hand, she was an awful liar. But Estelle was dense and usually believed everything she heard. "…I'm not sure. Maybe he misjudged the distance." she shrugged, looking up to the sky.

"Yeah…maybe you're right." Estelle sighed. She looked at the non-human with a weak smile. "I think I'll go to bed now. Good night, Judith."

The princess headed back into the caravan where Patty was sleeping soundly. Judith watched her go before looking up at the large moon. "…So why do I feel empty too?" she asked no one in particular before heading to bed herself.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Excuse any of the misuse of grammar. MS Word said it was correct and I'm far too lazy/busy to fix it. Also, if anyone could tell me the name of the language they speak, that would be great. Until then, the Abyss reference stays. Sorry again for the delay on this chapter. I'll try to work faster on the upcoming ones. As for the lack of real action and extra character development...well, I got an idea for that later. Bear with me. ^^;  
><strong>


	7. Unexpected Help

By mid-morning, Estelle, Judith and Patty had arrived at the gates to the Public Quarter of Zaphias. The young pirate had led the search and went so far as to look under benches and food carts in search of her old man friend. Estelle called out his name while looking up and down the many streets of her hometown. The only one of the trio that was silent was Judith. She stood in the center of every square and scanned the alleys and roads with her super sharp eyesight for any flash of pink and purple.

"Where could he be, nanoja…?" Patty asked as she approached Estelle, "I can't find the old man anywhere, Big Sis…"

Estelle knelt down and placed her hands on the little girls' shoulders lightly. "Don't give up yet, Patty. We'll find him, don't worry." She said calmly. Upon hearing Estelle's kind words, Patty smiled and rubbed the tears out of her eyes.

"You're right, Big Sis Estelle. We have to look harder!" She picked up her binoculars that always dangled around her neck and scoped out the area with them. "It'll be like searching for Aifread's treasure, nanoja! The old man will be found!"

The princess giggled to herself at the renewed vigor Patty had. It was enough to spark more hope and energy into her own body and she quickly hurried her walking pace. Yet no matter where or how hard they searched, Raven was nowhere to be found.

"We haven't looked around the castle yet." Judith said, quickly approaching the two, "If he was working on making the guilds and knights join forces like he said, he might be in there."

"Oh, of course! Thank you for the idea Judith. You're very smart." Estelle praised. The pink-haired teen lead the way into the Royal Quarter. The guards standing watch at their posts to the area saluted her and let her and her companions through. The same happened at the gates to the castle then in the main atrium hall. Estelle turned to her friends and gave them both a smile.

"The castle is pretty large. I think it would be best to stick together and look instead of splitting up." she suggested.

A male voice echoed in the large hallway. "What would you split up for, if I may ask?"

The group turned to see the Commandant himself approach them. The blonde bowed respectively to each girl before giving a more elaborate one for Estelle. "It's good to see you back in the castle, Lady Estellise." He said, straightening back up, "It's been a while since I helped you move. How are you doing?"

"Oh Flynn, something terrible has happened." Estelle said quietly. She exhaled before straitening up. The princess retold the entire story, from the attack at her manor to the slaughter of Halure. She also told him about the Aspioan mages and the significance of finding Raven to protect his heart. All the information at once seemed to daze Flynn, for he held his head in one hand as he tried to process all the information.

"So…you're saying that Captain S-…Raven is in danger?" he asked.

"Yes, nanoja! We have to go save him!" Patty cried, stomping her foot on the floor.

Flynn thought about the story he was just told. He sighed and let his arms rest at his sides. "I'm sorry, but hearing that all of Halure was wiped out is a very tall tale. I'm having a hard time believing you, Lady Estellise."

Estelle opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by Patty. The little girl puffed out her body to make herself appear bigger as she got on her tiptoes. "Big Sis Estelle would never lie to you, nanoja. We're telling the truth here." She growled menacingly.

Her sudden hostility was enough to jolt him mentally. "Well we'll just head back there to confirm-"

"There's no time!" the blonde pirate yelled.

The blonde commandant blinked a couple times before sighing. "Miss Patty, I understand your frustration, but this is how things need to be done. I'll send out a brigade to investigate Halure and when they return we can begin our search for Raven."

Patty growled from frustration and stomped her foot on the floor. For her real age, she was acting just how she looked. Judith decided to step in with an ace up her sleeve.

"Sir Flynn, we really are telling the truth. Can you let it slide? For us~?" She squeezed her arms together to make her already large assets appear larger.

The commandant had a certain weakness for women, as Shastere had proven to him three years ago. Not to mention those times when he teamed up with Yuri on their adventures, he had grown a small fondness for the Krityan.

"…A-alright. I know you're trustworthy. After I send a brigade out to scope Halure for survivors I'll help you find your missing person."

Judith smiled warmly and straightened out, her arms behind her back. Flynn turned around to head to his office to make the announcement when a solitary knight approached him. The knight had obviously been running, for he stooped to catch his breath as he stopped before Flynn. "S-sir! It's terrible! There's monsters and strange-!" He was cut off as the ground under him started to rumble. A large pillar of flame and lava shot through the marble castle floor and engulfed the screaming knight. In a matter of seconds he was gone and only the charred floor remained.

Flynn put his hand on the hilt of his sword out of pure instinct. His blue eyes stared in disbelief at what he just saw. He had no time to react before a large ball of fire smacked him in the chest, sending him flying with a cry. As Estelle ran to heal him, Judith and Patty readied themselves for battle. The hall was dead silent. Out of every possible corner and pillar a shadow mage slunk out, their ghost-like bodies swaying back and forth slowly. There were many more this time around.

"I can't believe they infiltrated the castle!" Estelle whispered in shock.

"I can, nanoja." Patty growled.

Flynn had by now gotten up and unsheathed his sword. He stood at the ready in front of Estelle. "I presume these are the ones that you were telling me about?" he asked quietly.

Estelle nodded. "Yes. I think they're still after me, or else they wouldn't have invaded the castle." The figures kept their distance. There were more than five this time—at least triple from the first encounter. They all kept their distance, seeming unwilling to attack. One stepped forward and all attention was focused on it. It looked different from the others. The dark robe it wore was trimmed with red and gold. The shadow mage lifted one arm from under its hooded cloak.

"…We've no means to fight." it said in a hoarse voice, "Just give us the Rizomata subject…no one else will die if you obey."

"Rizomata subject…?" Estelle repeated softly.

Judith frowned and raised Brionac so the blade pointed at the shadow mage. "We will not give in to you." she said in a low voice.

The shadow mage shook its head. "Shame…" It raised his hand and pointed it at the group. A small red light shone from inside the sleeve and a large gust of air broke apart the foursome. On cue, the rest of the mages darted forward, bodies glowing with delayed spells. Each one of them was bombarded with raging water, gusts of wind and orbs of fire. Flynn managed to slice his way through each spell and got to one of the mages quickly. He swung his sword at it only to have the sharp blade faze right through it. The mage took advantage of his shock and sent a few rocks hurtling out of the floor, right into his chest. Judith left her station by Estelle to help him up while diverting a large ball of fire with her spear. He nodded at her before dodging the spells and making it back to Estelle. The princess had been casting any of her light magic she could remember to drive back the mages. Patty was already in front of her, firing her gun at any mage she could spot.

"Come on! I date you to come take Big Sis Estelle away from me!" she sneered.

She took careful aim at one of the shadow mages hoods and sent three blasts its way. A small stream of blood arced out of the material as it fell. Suddenly, all the magic stopped. They had come to a standstill. Slowly the shadow mages retreated to the castle entrance. But all the commotion had summoned forth every guard on duty. They were trapped in the main entranceway. Flynn stepped forward and waved an arm out in front of him.

"Everyone! Capture these mages and placed them under arrest for attempted kidnapping and assault on the knights!" he called in a booming voice.

The knights readied their weapons and charged forth to do as their commanding officer said. The shadow mages were rounded up and trapped in a large circle of the knights. Flynn spoke up once more. "Take caution. They are able to use-!"

He was interrupted by yells of surprise and pain as a flood of water crashed down from above. The blast knocked away a large portion of the knights, leaving a gap wide enough for the mages to escape. They melted together and slithered out the main gates.

"After them!" the blonde commandant called, starting to charge.

The knights did as told and ran out the front door. Those that had fallen rose as fast as they could to their feet and followed the rest out. The group stopped in the doorway. Flynn was allowed through and he stood in disbelief at what he had seen. The mages were nowhere to be found. Instead, bodies lay scattered all up and down the streets of the Royal Quarter. It was a near replica of Halure. The only alteration was the small cries of a couple children. Flynn took a few shaky steps into the nearest street. He felt a small object brush past him and Patty took an aggressive stance before him. "This is what we were talking about, nanoja! Do you believe us now?"

From one end of the street a trembling woman carrying her small child emerged from behind a tree. She viewed the damages and sunk to her knees in tears. Flynn speed walked to her and knelt beside her. "Are you alright ma'am?" he asked.

"They just came out of nowhere…I thought we weren't going to survive." she sobbed.

Flynn straightened up and faced the knights. "Scour the city for survivors! Bring them into the castle for protection! Tighten up all security!" he ordered.

The knights simultaneously saluted him and marched off to do as ordered. Flynn returned to Estelle and Patty. Judith was nowhere to be seen. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you before," he said solemnly, "I'll accompany you from now on, Lady Estellise. I'll take my captain and lieutenant along. We'll head out right away."

Estelle nodded and wiped her eyes. She was speechless, afraid to open her mouth in fears that she would break down into sobs. Flynn saw this and ripped off a piece off of the cover that gave him his commandant status. He handed it to her with a small smile. Estelle took it with a whispered "thank you" before wiping her eyes. The blonde turned his attention to Patty who had been clutching Estelle's dress with one hand.

"I'm leaving her in your care, Miss Patty. Protect Lady Estellise. I'll be right back." he said softly.

Patty nodded and tipped her large hat to him as he left. She straightened up and kept her eyes on the horizon for any sign of danger. The shadow mages were nowhere to be seen. The pirate turned her attention to Estelle, who had since calmed down. "…Where's Big Sis Judith, nanoja?" she asked.

Estelle blinked and looked around. Come to think of it, she hadn't seen the Krityan since the shadow mages escaped. She took a few steps before practically running into the blue-haired woman.

"Excuse me." Judith said with a small smile.

"Big Sis Judith! Where were you, nanoja?" Patty asked, leaning closer to the Krityan.

"I was looking over the body of our friend in there." she answered with a straight face. Her eyes sparkled strangely, as if she enjoyed inspecting the body.

"Did you find anything interesting?" Estelle asked.

"Well, the person inside was a regular human. At least what I could tell," she reported, sounding like she was listing off a grocery list, "He had a large amount of blastia on him though. I took the liberty of removing them." She ended her sentence with a grin that sent a small chill up the other girls' spines. "The strange thing happened after I removed them. That thing he was wearing seemed to solidify and change into normal fabric."

"Solidify?" Patty chimed in, "What do you mean Big Sis Judith, nanoja?"

"I could touch it. Before, everything just blew right through it." the Krityan explained calmly.

"Is everyone ready to go?" The trio of girls turned to see Flynn flanked by his two most trusted subordinates, Sodia and Witcher. The two greeted the girls with small respective bows. "I've made sure the security is extra tight. Where am I escorting you?" he asked with a small sparkle in his eyes.

Estelle blinked a couple times and felt her face heat up. That was the same shine Yuri got whenever an adventure was mentioned. "W-well, Karol and the others were going to Dahngrest for find Raven there." The light bulb went off in her little pink head and she turned to Judith. "Can you call Ba'ul there? It would be the fastest way. I wouldn't want to keep Yuri and the others waiting."

Judith placed a hand to the back of her head, right before her antennae. She was silent before smiling and placing both arms behind her. "He says he'd be more than happy to help. He'll be by the nearest exit for us." She started for the gate. "Shall we?"

The group of six left the cleanup troops of knights behind and started on their way to the Den of Guilds.

"So…what's wrong with Repede?"

Rita sat on a box in the middle of a cargo ferry, staring with mild interest at a shaky Repede. When the small group arrived at Capua Nor, they had hitched a ride on the first boat to leave to Capua Torim. Yuri sat up from his makeshift bed of a cover he took off a couple fruit crates. "Repede just hates water," he said, laying back down, "He did the same on the Fiertia. Remember?"

"Yeah, then he bit you when you tried to move him." Karol mused, laughing at the memory.

"Shut up, brat!" the mage yelled, flinging a chunk of rotted wood at the boy. The object nailed him squarely in between the eyes, making him fall over. Satisfied, Rita went back to watching Repede stubbornly try to sit still amidst the rocking of the waves against the hull. "How much longer is this going to be?"

"Relax. Torim isn't far from Nor. We'll be there shortly and you can stop worrying about the old man." Yuri smirked.

"I-I'm not worried about him!" Rita retorted, "I'm worried about the blastia!"

The ex-knight just nodded slowly with a quiet chuckle. One of the crew members rounded the corner and waved to the group. "We've arrived." He announced before returning to his post. Yuri stood up and stretched. The ride wasn't as long as he expected. It was nice to get there on time. They still had a lot of day ahead of them for searching.

The first off the boat was Repede, who almost knocked a crew member over in his mad dash to escape the boat. He was followed by Karol and Rita then lastly Yuri, who passed a few coins to the captain. "So, are we taking a coach there or are we walking?" he asked, stopping before his friends.

"I'd prefer to take a coach. I don't want to be stopped by monsters." Karol said, his knees shaking slightly.

"Well then, let's go see if we can find one." Yuri smiled before heading into the lively port town.

The rest of the group followed him, keeping their eyes peeled for any kind of carriage service. Yuri found it hard to focus. He had an affinity for fighting and didn't want to sit around any longer. The overly careful tendencies of his boss rubbed him the wrong way, but he kept it buried. He had no place to say anything after all. Since he wasn't really looking ahead of him, he ran into a figure.

"Honestly, watch where you're going." the woman he smacked into huffed.

Yuri said a quick apology before starting off once more. He was stopped by a tug on the back of his shirt. He turned to se Rita looking up at him.

"Any idea what's with that crowd?" she asked, pointing in the direction the woman he bumped into walked off. There was a large crowd of nothing but women and a few men. all of them cheered and squealed happily. "I'm kind of curious to see what's over there." she added.

Yuri shrugged and walked over as his favorite cat asked. A very familiar voice rang out over the excited squees of the women.

"Now now, ladies! The great Raven has ta take a rest!"

The dark male pushed his way through the crowd with Karol and Rita at his sides. In the center stood a very pleased-looking Raven. He shook hands and waved to each girl before the entire crowd slowly dissipated. The older man finally set his sights on the search party before him.

"Well if it isn't Yuri, Karol and my darlin'." he greeted, "Long time no see. How've ya been?"


	8. Fun Times With An Old Man

Raven swaggered over and waved a greeting to the group. "I bet you've heard of my popularity boom recently. Interested in becoming my fans?" His smile fell slightly as he saw the unamused expressions on the groups' faces. "Well I know you~ want to be part of my fandom. Right, Rita darlin'?" He slid an arm around her shoulders as he spoke. Rita responded with a disgusted expression and a rather loud annoyed groan.

"What the hell did I say about you calling me that?" she snapped, throwing his arm off of her small frame.

The tan old man paused in thought for a second. "…Don't do it?" he asked simply.

"Exactly. So stop." Rita huffed.

"But I'm fond of you." Raven smirked.

The sentence made Rita's hands clench into fists. And though he managed to keep it hidden, a large flare of anger rose up inside Yuri. His body tightened up and, not for the first time in his life, he wanted to slug Raven just as much as Rita probably wanted to. He felt himself relax slightly as he heard her response.

"I'm not fond of you!" Rita yelled, puffing out her body, "Hell, most of the time I can't stand you!"

Raven placed a hand over his heart and staggered backwards. "Ohh…you wound me terribly, Rita." he sighed.

"Good. Maybe that'll teach you to knock it off." The mage smirked, folding her arms in victory.

"But of course…darlin'."

His final smirk was the last straw. Rita raised a fist and prepared to charge after Raven, shouting and swearing. Her rampage was stopped by a strong hand gripping her raised wrist. She turned to see a serious-looking Yuri holding her steady.

"Easy, Rita. We're trying to protect him, remember?" he said calmly.

"Woah woah woah. Protect me?" Raven said quickly, "Whaddya mean protect me?"

Yuri was slightly shocked at how Raven didn't know. The shadow mages were after him too, right? And with all that attention he had earlier, he had a hard time believing Raven managed to escape their sights for so long.

"You're saying that no one has attacked you at all?" Karol chimed in.

Raven put a hand to his chin in thought. After a couple of seconds he let his arm fall at his side once again. "Nope. Nothin' recent I can think of." he answered.

"Listen, you," Rita huffed, "There're these creeps out there that are using blastia. They're targeted Estelle and now they're going after you. So we're going to make sure you don't go dying on us."

The old man sighed and hung his head slightly. "I appreciate yer carin' an' all, but I'm getting old. This body of mine just can't keep on livin' forever, ya know."

"You can't just give up!" Karol cried, "The Raven I know would keep fighting the odds, no matter what!"

"I'll have to agree with the Boss here, old man. You're one of us, and Brave Vesperia doesn't let its friends just let the enemy destroy them." Yuri added, folding his arms.

"So shut up and come with us!" Rita finished.

"That just makes my ol' heart soar. You young'uns are truly what this old man needs in this life." Raven said, placing a hand over his heart.

He was yanked out of his posture by a hand covered by a fingerless red glove. "Let's go, you doddering old fool." Rita grumbled.

She managed to drag Raven halfway across the port town before letting go of his purple coat. She froze and took a slight defensive stance, staring at some off-distance object. Yuri stopped beside her and glanced down in her direction. "What's up?" he asked.

"I thought I saw…nothing. It was nothing." She mumbled, starting to walk again, "Come on. We have to meet up with the others."

"But guys! Guys! The coach…!" Karol whined, jumping in front of them.

Yuri sighed and looked at his short boss. "Come on, Captain. We can afford to live a little and cut down on the monster population." He hadn't fought any monsters in a while. There was the couple odd few that attacked the group between Ehmead Hill and Capua Nor. But that wasn't enough for Yuri. Fighting and taking down monsters gave him a rush like he never felt before. He frowned slightly but managed to hold a somewhat natural poker face from Karol's response.

"I'm sorry Yuri, but I don't want to take any chances. There's a better chance of being ambushed if we're walking alone."

"I have'ta agree with the kid on this one. My old bones can't handle the walkin'." Raven agreed. "B'sides, I'm lazy. A nice nap in a carriage sounds pretty good ta me."

Yuri shrugged and started half-assedly looking for any traveling carriage. Much to his despair, they found the very last coach departing for Heliord. Karol ran ahead to catch them and reserve a spot. Raven stayed close behind, followed by Rita and eventually Yuri and Repede. The dog huffed and looked up at his master as they walked.

"Yeah, I know. Just save your energy for the real bad guys." He sighed, "We'll get to fight soon enough."

* * *

><p>"W-w-wow! This r-road is r-really b-bum-py!"<p>

On one side of the coach, Karol sat on his knees, his head sticking out the window like an excited puppy on a car ride. The monster-drawn carriage rattled and shook with each of the roots and rocks its wooden wheels ran over. Raven sat next to the excited boy, his limp head lolling with each bump, soft snores coming from his body. Across from them, a very annoyed Rita tapped her foot against the carriage floor.

"Geez, you'd think he'd never seen the outside before," she huffed, looking at Karol, "And the old fart here can't stay awake for more than five seconds…at least his trap's shut."

Yuri rested his chin in his hand and stared idly out the window. He had long since tuned out Rita's constant bitching about their current situation of Karol acting dorky and Raven sleeping. He started thinking about ways he could get her to stay quiet for at least one minute. The sash on his sword seemed like it would make a good gag. However, that was leading to some rather exciting thoughts. Maybe a kiss would do the trick. Yuri was pretty curious to find out what her soft-looking lips tasted like. He closed his eyes, mentally debating the pros and cons of grabbing her, pulling her into his lap, and kissing her right then and there. Yuri was pulled out from his fantasy when he felt something push against his shoulder. He opened one eye to find that Rita had turned so her back was resting on his arm. One of her notebooks was open and it appeared that she was doodling idly at the end of what was supposed to be handwriting. Yuri grinned and leaned down by her ear.

"…Is that a heart with my name in it, Rita?" he asked in a voice only she could hear.

The mages' entire body tensed up and she quickly scribbled out the whole thing. "N-no! Of course not! What kind of idiot w-would think that?" she stuttered.

Yuri quickly reached up and over her body to take the notebook out of her hands. He glanced at it quickly before returning it to her. "I'm sure it wasn't…Rita Lowell." he smirked.

Rita jumped off him as if he was just injected with 10 million watts of electricity. She glared at him with a beet red face. Yuri laughed to himself and ruffled up her hair.

"Oh relax. All children do strange things." he smiled.

"I thought I told you to stop treating me like a child!" she yelled, puffing out her body to make herself appear bigger.

Yuri blinked a couple times. That was a while ago, that conversation. Yuri stopped to chat with her during her break of cleaning the Yumanju Hot Springs. What an outfit that was she wore…

"I think I remember that." he said, reaching out to slowly caress her cheek, "You'd rather me treat you as more of a woman? A beautiful one, I might add."

Rita let out little squeaks as she tried to form any coherent sentence. The urge to pull her close to him and take what he assumed would be her first kiss rose rapidly. He had a sort of weakness for situations like these. Especially with cat-eared girls near helpless before him.

"Rita's not beautiful."

Both Yuri and Rita turned their heads to see a very confused-looking Karol and an amused Raven watching them.

"She's a cactus, remember?" Karol added to his previous comment.

"Oh to be young again~…." Raven mused, placing his hands behind his head.

Shit.

Yuri had completely forgotten Karol and Raven were in the carriage with them. He was far too focused on Rita to remember his companions.

"Why'd ya stop the show? It was getting' int'restin'." Raven smirked, placing his hands behind his head.

"How about you shut your mouth before I shut it for you?" a very angry Rita roared, her face redder than a ripe tomato.

Before Raven could say another word on the subject, three loud barks from where the coachman sat interrupted the small fight. Yuri looked up at the roof and tapped it with the hilt of his sword. "Everything alright up there?" he called.

"Your dog seems to be going crazy! It's like he's—woah!"

The coach veered hard to the left and shook violently as something exploded right by it. In an instant, the carriage fell over, smoke rising from a charred axle. The passengers were tossed around from the impact like rag dolls. Bruised but fine, Yuri kicked open one of the doors to have a look around.

"Is everyone alright?" he called, looking back into the coach.

"I'm fine," Rita coughed, emerging behind him, "Karol and the old man look fine too."

Right on cue the old and young males exited the caravan looking just as confused as their companions. "What just happened?" Karol squeaked, rubbing his head.

"Looks like something blew off that tire." Yuri said, looking at the damage.

A flash of blue and white flew over the group and Repede landed by his master's side. He appeared calm, for his fur lay flat and his posture tall, but his dagger was in his mouth. He looked back at the fallen carriage where the driver stumbled from the wreckage.

"Are you folks all right?" he asked.

None of them had the chance to answer him. Under his feet, the earth started to crack and crumble. Rita recognized each little crack and reacted immediately, reaching out to him. "Move! Now!" she yelled.

The coachman could not react in time. The earth below him broke open sending twenty thick vines skyrocketing upwards. The plants wrapped themselves around the poor man's wrists, elbows and ankles before exploding into a plethora of foot-long razor sharp thorns. Rita winced and turned away from the carnage. She herself had cast that exact spell many times in the past. She almost regretted using it, now that she saw the gruesome effects up close, and on a human to boot. A hand clamped down on her shoulder and she looked over to See Yuri standing next to her, his sword at the ready. Whether it was to cheer her up, a random show of affection, or a motion to keep her safe, she did not know. The action worked and brought her focus back to the present and the danger at hand. They had been followed, and the mages were around.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Ok, so I split chapter eight into two chapters. I didn't want like...5,000 words** **thrown at you guys that still like this story. Sorry for taking so long to update as well. Hope this two-parter thing satisfies ** **you guys enough. Please be patient with me as I try to write between a long work schedule and homework.**


	9. A Father

The five of them slowly backed themselves into a circle, keeping their backs to each other. Yuri kept glancing over at Repede to see if there were any signs of change. The dog would certainly tell him first. He instinctively placed his free hand slightly before Rita's body, trying to put her behind him. He didn't want her harmed in the fight he knew was approaching. She glanced up at him and elbowed his arm away with a small pout. He shrugged and focused back on the surrounding forest.

"So…what're we fightin' here again?" Raven asked, keeping a wary hand on his dagger.

"Remember what we were talking about before?" Rita answered in a low voice.

"Oh, them weirdo mages 'r whatever?" the old man asked.

Rita simply nodded in response, focusing her gaze back onto the surrounding brush. The silence pressed on the groups ears. Maybe it was a false alarm. Yuri hoped they left. The odds of that were insanely low, but it was worth a thought. His little happy thought process of just getting out of there was cut short. Some bushes rustled and the Shadow Mages made themselves visible. The group turned their attention to them, holding their weapons stiffly at the ready. A few minutes of silence passed between the two groups as they appeared to stare each other down. A couple stepped forward and all the attention was focused on them. The mages raised their hands in a sign of peace.

"We're not going to harm you," one of them said in a raspy voice, "as long as you give us what we desire,"

"No way! You can't have Raven! He's our friend!" Karol cried.

Raven sighed. "I appreciate yer care, kid, but I'm not sure I wanna keep livin' this life much long-"

"Would you shut up already?" Rita yelled, turning to face him, "you're not going to die, you're going to fight and goddamnit you're sure as hell not leaving us behind like that! We need you, old man; whether you like it or not!" She spun to face the Shadow Mage and cracked her whip on the ground. "You'll have to take him over my dead body, fuckass. Come and get it!"

The apparent leader mage shook his head slowly. "It's a shame….we really respected you too, Rita Mordio. Your work paved the way for fighting with magic. It's a shame your own research will be your end,"

He raised his hand, letting a glowing light from under his oversized sleeve shine bright enough for her to see. In a flash she was blinded as a cascade of water erupted from the light, engulfing them in whitewater currents. The tidal wave sent them spinning out of formation and crashing into one another. Yuri held his blade high as to not accidently cause harm to his companions. He bumped into various trees and what he thought were his friends before the torrent dropped them. Yuri quickly regained his bearings and looked around for his companions and attackers. He sliced through a couple fireballs as he dodged countless enemy attacks. He was able to catch glimpses of the battlefield as he did so. Repede and Karol tag-teamed their attacks to down two mages. Raven hopped from ground to tree, firing arrows at his wind-throwing assailant. Finally, there was Rita on the ground, her back to a tree. Her whip lay broken next to her. Yuri looked too long at her using her math formulas to produce a large cat's paw. He was thrown into the air by a large pillar of rock cast by a hidden mage behind him. He flew into the air and crash landed with a loud crunch on the forest floor.

Yuri blinked away the stars and rolled back up to his feet. He parried a Stone Blast and cut at any Shadow Mage he could find. His efforts proved to be fruitless, as whatever property the cloaks had that his enemy wore allowed the sword to pass right through. But it didn't matter. As long as he could keep them distracted enough until a killer shot hit, it was good enough for him.

Yuri slashed at his target a few more times. The Shadow Mage relented and disappeared into the brush. Yuri considered chasing after him before Karol's voice rang out.

"Yuri! Raven's in trouble!"

The ex-knight turned to see his old friend struggling to fight off three of the shadow Mages. He swung his dagger with one hand and his empty bow with the other. His blastia heart emitted a bright red right through his pink shirt, the effort of fighting the horde maxing his limits. Yuri leapt in, swinging his sword wildly in an effort to separate the mages. He succeeded in making two back away. The third flew toward Raven, his arm exposed and outstretched. He launched a fireball at Raven's chest. The old man was knocked backwards on his rear end, his shirt and part of his jacket all but seared off. His heart was fully exposed. The shadow Mage took his chance. He reached for the orb with his exposed hand. The mage grabbed the blastia with his entire hand for only a second before he screamed in pain. Smoke rose from his hand as he yanked it away from the heart. The mage flailed around in pain, screaming at the top of his lungs. Yuri saw this as a good distraction and moved in to deal a fatal blow. If he could at least sever the veins in the wrist…

Then a high-pitched cry came from behind him.

Yuri turned for a second to see Rita entangled in a web of vines. The caster stood not too far from her, muttering the final words of the incantation that would rip her to shreds. Something sparked inside him, sending a surge of fear and rage through his body. He ran towards the one that held Rita captive, his blade glinting brightly in the patches of sunlight that fell through the treetops. He couldn't see anything else but the hold in the hood where the Shadow Mages' face would be. With a yell and a sharp thrust he pierced the mages body, cutting into the flesh and through bone. Slowly, his vision came back. He held the now dead mage up by the point of his sword. Blood trickled down the mage's hands and began pooling up on the earth below. Yuri yanked he sword out of the hood which made the mage crumple in a heap on the ground. He looked around. There was no sign of the mages anymore. Karol was treating Raven's chest for burns, Repede was sniffing the ground intensely to find a scent, the unfortunate enemy that had burned himself lay on the ground silently, and Rita was on the ground, staring at Yuri with widened eyes.

Yuri silently looked back to the dead mage. He gave the body a small kick before turning around to face his friends. He took a few steps closer to the mage and knelt down by her. "You hurt, Rita?" he asked.

The mage nodded and started to get up. Yuri held out a hand to her to help her up, which Rita swatted away. She mumbled something that sounded like "I can get up by myself" before slowly rising to her feet. Yuri shrugged off the rejection and stood as well. He turned around to where his previous target was. Raven was still there, along with Karol. The two were engaged in dressing any wounds sustained from the spells. The mage that burned himself was no longer there.

"Karol, what happened to the guy that was there?" Yuri asked, making his way over to the small boy.

Karol looked up before looking around at the ground. He leapt to his feet with a yell. "He was just here! Raven, what happened?" he yelled.

"Don' ask me, kid. He was there jus' a moment ago." Raven answered, looking equally as shocked.

Yuri turned his focus on Repede, who was sniffing the ground intensely. "Repede!" he called.

The dog kept his nose glued to the ground for a few seconds before lifting his head. He faced his master and let out a long whine, his ears falling back behind his head. Yuri clenched his hands into fists and wrinkled his nose a bit. He uttered a curse and took a seat on the ground. What else could go wrong? It was then Rita let out a small yell. The rest of the group turned to face her. Rita knelt by the body, her eyes wide. "This is…This is…"

Yuri rose to his feet and made it to her a few long strides. He was joined shortly by Karol, Repede and Raven. "What's the matter, Rita?" Yuri asked hastily.

Rita let her muscles relax she lifted the hood of the dead mage once more. "…I knew him. These guys are definitely from Aspio."

Karol opened his mouth to speak, but it was covered by Raven's hand. "Some sort of work pal there?" the old man asked.

"Not really. He did torment the shit out of me though," Rita answered with a sigh, "but he was one of the smarter ones. He had potential to maybe start becoming as good as me." She clasped her hands together and closed her eyes, something she had only ever done once before. After a few moments, she reopened her eyes and stood up. "…Alright. Let's get going. We lost a lot of time."

"You don't want to bury him or anything Rita? It seems kind of sad to just leave someone you knew dead on the ground," Karol said, looking between her and the body.

Rita turned her back on them. "If you want to, go ahead. It doesn't bother me. We've left plenty of monster bodies, after all," She paused to smile slightly. "…at least, the ones Estelle didn't rush to bury."

"W-wait! Rita! You can't go on your own!" Karol called, starting after her.

"Guess that's our cue too, Yuri," Raven sighed, placing his hands behind his head, "wouldn't want to be left behind by those kids."

Yuri silently straightened up and began walking behind Karol and Rita. The group left the body there and headed to their next destination.

* * *

><p>"Yuri…Yuri can we please stop here for the night? I'm tired and my feet hurt."<p>

Yuri rolled his eyes and turned around to face Karol. "We're almost there. We can keep pressing on."

"I haveta agree with the kid here, Yuri. I'm not sure how much more 'pressin' on' these old bones can take," Raven added.

"If we make it to Heliord we can rest. It's not safe enough right now." Yuri stated, furrowing his brow.

Karol stopped in his tracks. "Yuri, as leader of Brave Vesperia I order you to stop so we can rest!" he called. The outburst made Yuri stop. He watched Karol for a little bit. The young boy stared at him in defiance, his arms out as he tried to make himself appear big. "Look at us, Yuri. All of us are tired. Even you, if you won't admit it! How do you think we can defend ourselves if we're all exhausted? It's dark too! We won't stand a chance!"

Yuri surveyed the group. Raven was slouching, a pose he'd seen him do many times on long trips. And even though Karol stood boldly, Yuri could see he was struggling to keep his eyes fully open. His gaze turned to Rita, who was hunched over, her hands on one side. Then finally, he looked at Repede. The dog's ears were back and he too was panting heavily. The odds were against him. He sighed and folded his arms. "Alright, Captain, a break could be used."

Karol brightened up. "Great! I'm going to get a fire going then take the first night watch! Raven, come help me!"

The oldest and youngest started looking around in the late twilight's light for anything to burn. Yuri rolled his eyes and grumbled slightly. Some dead-tired kid he was. He walked over to a rather large tree and took a seat on its roots. Now that he was sitting, he found himself to be a lot more tired than he thought. He soon found himself struggling to keep his head up. Maybe resting his eyes for a minute would be a good idea. Yuri closed his eyes and let his head recline against the bark of the tree. The rustling and chatter of Karol and Raven soon faded into the distance. It was nearly completely quiet. He could have fallen asleep if it weren't for the heat he felt approaching. He kept his eyes closed and pretended to be asleep. The heat source moved closer. A bit of fabric brushed against his open chest. He could hear the thing breathing. It was shallow and slightly rapid. He heard it gulp. Yuri reached up and grabbed the fabric that rested on him gently. He opened his eyes slowly and smirked.

"If you're going to sneak a kiss, Rita, you might want to be a little more secretive about it."

Rita jumped and tried to pull away. Yuri gripped her tie tighter to prevent her escape. He pulled her small form in closer. "If that's what you wanted, all you needed to do was ask." He tugged on the tie, drawing her in closer. He smirked as she struggled to escape his grasp. Just one peck. That's all he needed. He could feel Rita's body slacking on its resist.

"Let me go…you fuckass," she growled.

"Mmm…no." he grinned. Their faces were now only inches apart. "If you didn't want this, you wouldn't have approached me."

"Yuri! Help me start the fire!" Karol called form a short distance away.

Yuri released Rita, who immediately backed as far away from him as possible. He gave her a sly look before getting up. "Alright. I'm going," he said loudly.

* * *

><p>The half-moon's light hardly lit up the campsite. The remaining embers of a once large fire crackled quietly as their life faded. The five group members all lay around the flames, each one lost in dream land. One of them opened their eyes and sat up. They made sure everyone was asleep before standing up and walking out. The figure left the small clearing and made it twenty feet away. They looked up and caught a glimpse of the moon through the many trees that overgrew on the continent.<p>

"…Can't sleep?" a voice asked.

The figure turned around. A few rays of moonlight illuminated half of a familiar purple coat.

"Maybe I can't. What's it to you?" the figure asked, looking back skyward.

"Something on your mind? You can talk ta me about it ya know, kitten," Raven said with a small smile.

"Don't fucking call me that," Rita growled. She glared at him with a huff. She looked down at the ground. "…I wanted to come out here to think, ok?"

Raven took a couple steps closer to her. "Lemme guess. It has somethin' ta do with Yuri."

Rita stayed silent. "So what if it does?" she snapped.

Raven raised his hands defensively. "No need to get pissy now. I jus' wanna help."

The mage was quiet, contemplating her answers. She sighed and held onto her arms. "All this time…I thought he was the biggest dick I had ever met. Before I met you, that is," She shot him a look before continuing. "I don't know what to feel anymore. I thought…I don't know. Have you ever been in love with two people at the same time?"

"Can't say I have. I've only ever loved one woman in my life, and she's long gone," Raven answered.

"Bit weird hearing that from your womanizing ass," Rita commented, "…Sorry. I'm just frustrated. I mean, it's confusing. I thought I was in love with Estelle…but now it doesn't feel like that anymore. Well, it's kind of the same thing, but with him instead. And I…I'm not sure what I want anymore," she sighed. "why the hell am I telling you all this anyway? It's not like you even care,"

Rita slumped against the tree, looking down at the dried leaves under her shoes. A hand touched her shoulder and she looked up to see Raven's face.

"It's a hard thing ta do, growing up. Ya shouldn't be scared to come ta me with your problems. I'll do anythin' ta help ya," he smiled, "we're family, right?"

Rita shrugged away from him. "I guess…" she mumbled.

"Now get some sleep. Yer going to need the rest, if we keep pushing on like how Yuri wants."

Rita nodded and turned to walk back to the campsite. She paused and turned to look at him. "Same goes for you. You're in the most danger around here."

"Aww, I'm touched ya care about me that much." Raven grinned.

"Don't you even get the wrong idea, you old pervert." She growled. The brunette faced forward and started back to the campsite. Under her breath she added, "I just want a parent alive.."


	10. Gathering

Yuri was the first to wake up from the morning suns' rays. He groggily sat up from his spot on the ground and blinked the sleep from his eyes. Or at least, he tried to sit up. A somewhat heavy weight kept half of his body down on the earth. He looked over to find a lightly snoring Rita laying half on his stomach, smiling in her sleep. Didn't she fall asleep on the opposite end of the campsite? He rolled his eyes and looked around at the rest of his party members. Karol lay spread-eagled on his back, using Repede as a pillow. Raven lay on his side not too much further away, a small lake of drool glistening in the morning sunlight under his face. Yuri looked back down at Rita and smirked. He brushed her bangs out of her face and leaned in close to her.

"Time to wake up, Rita," he whispered, planting a kiss on her forehead.

The young mages' eyes shot open near instantaneously after the act. She jolted upright and turned to glare at Yuri.

"Wh-what the hell?" she yelled with a bright red face.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Yuri grinned, "would you rather have had me do that on your lips?"

Rita stuttered, the blush on her face growing darker. She gave him a simple "fuck you" as her rebuttal before turning around. So he took it as a yes and stretched.

"We should probably move on before they catch up to us," Yuri said standing up, "you wanna wake up Karol or the old man?"

Yuri barely had time to finish his sentence. "Karol," Rita replied quickly. She stood up as well and stretched before marching over to the little boy and lightly kicked him in the side. She said something Yuri could not hear, for he had already left to wake up Raven. But by the time he got there, the old man already had one eye open. He looked up at Yuri with a small smile. "Layin' the moves on a little thick there, ain't ya?" he said in a half-whisper with a small wink, "let this old man show ya how ta do it right."

"If you try anything like that, she'll kill you," Yuri said, placing a hand on his hip. He put his weight on one leg and frowned. "and if by some miracle you manage to survive, you'll have to deal with me."

"Relax, kiddo. I don't go near any taken ones. Especially none her age." Raven said, getting to his feet, "I may be a womanizer, but even I have my age limits. 20 years difference would stain my good image."

"What good image?" was what Yuri wanted to say. He stayed silent, however, and folded his arms. "Just so we're clear," he said aloud, looking over at the younger two of the group. Yuri smiled to himself as he watched Karol darting around after Rita, trying to make sure she cooked their breakfast right before looking up at the sun which was rising slowly higher in the sky.

"Come on, hurry up," he called, starting to walk over to them, "we have to get going early if we're going to make it to town before noon."

"Umm, Yuri?" Karol asked, finishing making his sandwich, "I kinda wanted to clean up the campsite first. To cover our tracks and all." He paused for a second. "I do appreciate the help and all, And I know we're in a hurry."

"So let's go then," Yuri said, folding his arms.

"Yuri, I'm still the leader. And I'd like to proceed carefully," the little boy frowned.

The kid was right. He did appoint Karol as the leader long ago, even before Brave Vesperia was formed. He had no real argument against the little boy. So, Yuri decided to have a seat under a rather large tree and pout. He watched Karol carefully cover up the campfire ashes and clean up every little mess. He had half a mind to go over and pester Rita, who had busied herself in one of her notebooks.

"Hey Karol. I didn't git any breakfast," Raven commented.

The little boy looked up from his nearly completely packed bag at the old man. "Huh? You didn't eat, Raven?" he asked.

"No. This poor old man is starvin' here. My stomach is eatin' itself." Raven held his stomach and doubled over with a groan. "I need food before I collapse and die."

Karol immediately began rummaging through his bag for any leftover food. "Of course, Raven! I'll make you something real quick!"

"You're a goddamn liar." Rita commented, "I saw you eatin-" She was cut off by a blur of purple and a tan hand covering her mouth.

"Shhhh...You musta been seein' things," he said quickly, keeping his hand clamped over her mouth. Rita made an annoyed growl and shot him a death glare. The archer released her and swaggered over to Yuri. "Yuri, you don't mind waitin' a few more minutes for an old man to finish his breakfast, would you?" He swung one arm around his shoulders and pulled the younger male closer. Yuri simply gave him the same Look Rita did. Raven slid away and took a long single bound over to Karol, his hand outstretched.

"Here you go, Raven!" Karol smiled, holding out a newly finished sandwich.

Raven took it graciously with added unneeded motion. "Ah, my stomach will finally stop roarin' at last! Thank you so much, little Karol!" The old man bent over to bow deeply to the little boy.

"Knock it off, Raven," Karol sighed, his cheeks slightly pink.

Just as Raven straightened back up, Repede padded over behind him. He stared at the sandwich in his hand before grabbing it with his muzzle and eating it whole. Raven stared at the dog in disbelief. Karol couldn't hold back his laughter. He practically fell over on the ground, clutching his stomach. Repede just yawned and walked over to his master, who was busy trying to keep a straight face.

"That's jus' unfair. Now what am I s'pposed ta eat?" Raven whined.

"Nothing. Since your greedy ass already ate," Rita snapped, folding her arms. The annoyed look on her face disappeared and was replaced with a smile as she approached Repede. She patted him on the head a couple times and mumbled a "good boy."

"I'd love to make you another sandwich, Raven, but we're running out of time." Karol said as he repacked everything he removed from his bag, "we can get something at Heliord if you'd like." Raven nodded in agreement, mumbling under his breath. This cause Karol to break out into a huge grin. "Alright! Brave Vesperia, move out!"

"Keep yelling like that and they'll find us," Rita sneered, rolling her eyes.

With that, she turned her back on the group and started walking off to the west. She was soon followed by Repede, Yuri, Raven then Karol bringing up the rear. The five stayed on constant alert and jumped into battle formation at the slightest rustle of grass. The way to the Rising City was surprisingly calm. Only a small handful of monsters attacked and they were able to wipe them all out easily. There wasn't one hint of a Shadow Mage anywhere. Every time Yuri tried to mention how quiet it was, Raven would always interrupt him. "We should jus' be glad we don't have to fight 'em."

The forest began getting scarcer and scarcer as the group neared the The Rising City. The sun was blotted out just as gradually with each passing step.

"Do you think it's gonna rain?" Karol asked, looking up at the sky nervously.

"More than likely. It's always gloomy around that town," Rita added.

Karol hung his head. "It feels like it's raining already with that comment."

Finally, the woods thinned out and the gateway to Heliord appeared to open before them. Karol laughed and ran ahead of them. "We made it!" he exclaimed.

"On perfect timing! I don't think my poor legs can handle any more walking," Raven said, running up alongside Karol.

"He says as he sprints..." Rita grumbled, folding her arms, "that guy is just...unbelievable sometimes."

Yuri looked down at her and grinned. "You sound like a mother when you talk like that." Rita gave him a look and a scoff. He raised an eyebrow at her. "What? You do. And on the topic, I think you'd make a great mother."

Rita blushed and looked away. "Don't say things like that." She glanced quickly at him, and sighed, "it's embarrassing and stupid."

Yuri shrugged, keeping his comments to himself. He wasn't in the mood for teasing at the moment. Not to mention he didn't feel like giving Karol and Raven another show. He watched the rest of the group head into the city before looking back up into the sky. The clouds gathered quickly and threatened to turn the day back into night.

"...Hey Yuri. Think it's gonna-" Rita was cut off by a rumble of thunder and a sudden downpour of Rain. "...rain." she finished half-heartedly.

The two darted into the city to escape the rainstorm. Tolbyccia was in the tropics after all, and this wasn't the first flash-storm they've encountered on the continent. The closest building was the headquarters for the knights that resided in town. They made it under the overhang where it was still relatively dry, panting from the sprint. After they regained their breath, Yuri started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Rita asked, wringing out her shirt.

"Nothing. Nothing at all," he responded, looking down at her.

Rita stared at him for a few moments before returning to drying out her clothing. She grumbled under her breath and shivered. Yuri watched her for a bit before looking down at himself. He spun his sash around and undid the knot that held it in place. He placed it in the open part of his shirt and shed his vest. Rita had caught him out of the corner of her eye and blushed.

"Wh-wh-what do you think you're doing?" she exclaimed, taking a step back from him, "y-you can't do that here! Besides, w-we're in public!"

Yuri stayed silent and gripped his coat by the shoulders. He turned to face Rita and draped it around her with a pure poker face. "It's not much, but it should help keep you warm, and relatively dry."

Rita blinked and blushed before pulling the vest around her body tighter. She muttered a thanks and turned away from him. Part of her wanted to just throw it off and right back in his face. But she decided to keep it around her. It was much warmer than it seemed, for being a vest. Having his familiar musk around her didn't make it that bad either. Still gripping the vest tightly, she slid closer to him and leaned against him ever so lightly. Yuri smiled down at her before looking back out at the falling rain. Slowly, he moved an arm behind her and rested his hand on her shoulder.

"...Don't touch me," the mage mumbled. Yet she made no effort to move. The two stood there under the overhang in silence, waiting for the storm to pass by. The rain never stopped, but lessened to a light drizzle. Yuri walked out first, holding out his hand. He turned back to Rita with a grin.

"Rains stopped," he reported.

Rita walked out from the dry area, looking up at the sky. She confirmed he was telling the truth and removed his vest from her shoulders.

"Here," she said simply, handing it back to him, "put it back on. I don't want anyone thinking anything."

Yuri sighed. He out his vest and sash back on, wondering if she really thought Karol or Raven didn't know. It seemed quite obvious to him. Even though neither one of them had addressed their feelings to the other. A small seed of doubt nestled into his mind that he couldn't shake free.

"...Come on. Let's see if we can find Karol, Raven and Repede," he said, turning to walk into town. Rita bounded after him, not wanting to be left behind, her eyes open for the familiar white, purple or blue. Every once ion a while, Yuri would catch glances over at her wording a question in his mind. He didn't want to scare her off with something like that. Every word had to be arranged perfectly. When he thought he had it right, he slowed his walking pace and faced her.

"So, Rita..." he said, catching her attention, "what were you talking about earlier? When I gave you my vest."

Rita raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"You know. You freaked out and yelled about being in public or something..." The swordsman trailed off as he watched her face turn from it's usual pale to a bright red. "Oh. Now I have to know."

"I-it was nothing," she responded. The mage found it hard to make and keep eye contact with him.

Yuri watched her for a moment before it finally clicked in his brain. He took a couple long strides and stood before her, blocking her path. He grinned playfully and bent down to her level, staring her straight in the eye. "Aww, I didn't know _that_ was on your mind, Rita."

His comment made the brunette blush harder. She suddenly found her shoes very interesting. She huffed and wrinkled her nose, unable to find any words to string together. Yuri gripped her cheeks lightly and pulled her face back upright. He rested his forehead on hers as she gasped and squeezed her eyes shut. The lack of a struggle was working out well for him. Just one kiss. That's all he needed. That would hold him and keep himself restrained. He moved his face closer to hers at a slow pace. Just a little bit further...

"There he is! Hey Yuri!"

The sudden voice made Yuri flinch. He released Rita and jolted upright. The mage opened her eyes quickly and peered around him, her body shaking slightly. The rest of their group was headed towards them, Karol in the lead. His arms flailed around to signal to them. "What happened to you guys?" he asked as he neared the two.

"Rita tripped and fell. So I went back to sav-" Yuri was cut short by a swift elbow to the stomach.

"Nothing of the sort happened!" she snapped, "we just didn't make it to the shop before that storm came." She shot Raven a deadly look. "And if you even get one idea, old man. I'll personally kick your ass to next Remday."

Raven held his hands up. "I wasn't thinkin' of anythin'. No need to worry there."

Rita huffed and put her hands on her hips. "Did you buy everything you need? I don't want to hang around her any longer. If we don't make it back in time, and something happened to Estelle..." She bared her teeth and stomped her foot, "All of you will regret it! Do you understand?"

Both Karol and Raven gulped and nodded rapidly. Even Yuri had a chill sent up his spine from the young womans' anger.

"You heard her. Let's get going Captain." he said eventually, looking over at Karol.

"R-right...to Dahngrest to meet up with everyone else!" he cried, throwing his fist in the air.

* * *

><p>The sun had nearly completely set by the time the five made it into the Den of Guilds. Dahngrest was dark as ever, just as it had been when they left. Yuri kept a sharp eye out for any sudden or little movements from the more shadowy parts of the city. Repede barked twice and he immediately flipped Second Star into a battle-ready position. He let it slide back down, catching the ribbon in his fingers.<p>

"Yuri! Everyone!" a female voice called.

From a rather large group standing not too far away, a woman in a fancy blue dress ran towards them, a hand in the air. Her bright pink hair bounced with each step she took and she giggled happily. Estelle jumped at Yuri, who caught her and swung her around halfway, propelled by the force.

"Someone's happy," he commented, setting her down.

"Yes, I am," she smiled, her aquamarine eyes welling up with tears. She sniffed and rubbed her eyes. "I-I'm sorry. I just thought something bad happened to you all. I'm so glad you're safe."

Yuri turned his attention off of her and to the rest of the group she came from. The mass of people was slowly approaching. He raised an eyebrow at the princess. "Just how many people did you pick up?" he asked.

Everyone he saw before they departed walked casually up to him. Patty and Judith greeted the worn-out group with smiles, as well as Flynn and his two most trusted subordinates.

Estelle perked up. "Oh! Flynn said he would help! And that's Sodia and Witcher. Remember them?"

As soon as Yuri locked eyes with the orange haired knight, she looked away. He tried his best to focus on someone else. Things were still awkward between them, after all. Flynn stood at attention and held his hand out to Karol. "I understand you're the leader of the guild. I would like to discuss with you further on the recent incidents.

Karol could have exploded with joy for finally being recognized as a leader—by the commandant himself. He stood up straight and spoke in the most professional voice he could manage. "How about we do this at my HQ? That way we can discuss, uhm...plans of...attack!" The little boy grinned nervously.

Flynn took a look around. "Sounds like a good idea. This place doesn't look like the best spot to hold a decent conversation."

The newly combined group began heading back to Brave Vesperia's headquarters. Everyone except for Estelle. She reached out and grabbed Yuri be yhe sleeve. He stopped and turned to look at her with a confused expression.

"What is it, Estelle?" He asked.

The princess stayed quiet and looked around nervously. The swordsman sighed. "I'll be there in a little bit," he called to his friends.

All but one of the group waved and said something about seeing him later. Rita stayed in place, staring at him, refusing to blink. Her green eyes pierced through his very soul, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. After glaring at him for a bit longer she stomped off to join the rest of her friends. Yuri sighed and returned to Estelle.

"What's up?" he asked.

Estelle fidgeted with part of her dress and stared at the ground. "Umm...Yuri?" she started, "Something's been bothering me for a little bit...can I talk to you about it?"

Yuri put his weight on one leg and folded his arms. "Shoot."

"Yuri...are you in love with Rita?" Estelle asked quietly.

It was a simple question, but one that stopped his mind in it's tracks. He stared at her like she had a third arm growing out of her forehead. "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that," he lied.

"Are you in love with Rita?" Estelle asked again, louder this time.

"What makes you say that?" he asked cooly. Yuri had mastered hiding his emotions during his life, making covering up his growing nervousness a cinch.

The pink-haired teen fidgeted a bit more, tugging at her gloves. "I...I don't know. I'm just being silly, aren't I?" she laughed nervously. "because...well..oh, I can't say it."

The raven-haired male sighed and shook his head. "Remember how we practiced making up our minds? And sticking to decisions?" he asked, "you made up you mind to talk to me. Stick to it and tell me what's got you all skittish."

Estelle took a deep breath, moving her arms with her chest. "I always thought you...were in love with me...like how I love you," she mumbled. She looked up and him, her cheeks the same color as her hair. "...was I wrong?"

Yuri exhaled slowly. The news didn't come as a huge surprise to him. He had suspected as much during their travels. But every time he looked at her, all he saw was a weaker younger sister that needed his guidance. For the first time in his life, he had no answer.

"...Yuri?" Estelle asked quietly, "did I say something wrong?"

He frowned a bit. He had gotten himself into this by pushing her to speak. Lying to her was definitely out of the option. And would get him killed by either Rita or Flynn, depending on his answer. He took a couple steps closer to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Now isn't the time or place for a topic like this." he said in the calmest tone he could manage, "can we discuss it after we get out of trouble?"

Estelle nodded, a small smile on her lips. Before he could move, Estelle took him by the sleeve once again. "Yuri...I just wanted you to know..." She bit her lower lip. "no matter what you say to me, I'll be happy with your decision. And for you."

He gave her a smile and tilted his head I the direction of Brave Vesperia's headquarters. "Come on. Let's get going back before they miss us too much."

The princess smiled brightly and walked along side him back to the small building.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yes, I know none of you care about any of this. But I might as well post it anyway. I lost Microsoft Word on my laptop due to a fluke, hence the delay in update. So now I have to learn how to OpenOffice. I also rushed the ending of this to get it done. I know it's terrible already so please don't point it out.** **In any case, here's chapter ten. I hope you enjoyed it...even though it's horrible.**


	11. Then Things Happened

"WHAT?"

Yuri paused before the door to Brave Vesperia's building, his hand resting on the doorknob lightly. He blinked a couple of times and stared at the wood. After giving a confused look to Estelle, he cautiously opened the door . No one was in the front hallway, save for Repede who had decided to nap in a corner. Yuri quickly crossed the room to one of the four doors on the other side and opened it. This particular door led to the large and quite lavish meeting room where everyone was gathered. Most of the budget for the building went to the room everyone occupied. The walls and wooden floors were polished and shone brightly from the bright torches that lit up the walls. The middle of the room had a long oak table that rested on a bright red carpet. Flynn and his trusted subordinates sat on one side of this massive table while Brave Vesperia and its residents stayed on the other side. Karol stood with his hands on the wooden table. The chair he sat on was toppled behind him. Raven sat on one side of the small boy, the old man appearing unfazed. Rita wasn't in the room. Patty, who had taken the seat next to Raven was holding on to his jacket sleeve rather tightly. Against the far wall, Judith leaned against the wood, completely silent. None of them noticed Yuri and Estelle enter the room.

"Flynn, what do you mean by half the city?" Karol asked, his voice loud and higher than usual.

The commandant leaned forward a bit, placing his clasped hands on the table. "I mean what I said. Half of Zaphias' population in the Royal and Commoner Quarters were wiped out. Lady Estellise, Miss Judith and Miss Patty have informed me on most of the situation. Would you care to fill me in on the rest?"

"Rita might know more. She's smart," Estelle chimed in, making her presence known. She walked from Yuri's side to the table and looked around. "...where is she?"

"I can't look...Yuri, can you find her?" Karol asked, his voice hollow, "I want to keep talking to Flynn. He needs our side of the story."

Yuri gave a half-assed salute and turned to exit the largest room. He was able to catch a glimpse of a strange emotion on Estelle's face for a split second before she turned to face Flynn. The unknown emotion twanged at the ex-knight, but he was able to shake it off. It more than likely had to do with what she just told him. Yuri couldn't linger on it. Finding Rita was a priority right now. The more people they had, the better of a battle strategy they could create. Once back in the main entrance way, he paused. There were only a few places she could have disappeared to. His stomach decided to voice it's opinion loudly to interrupt his thoughts. Looking for people would be hard to do on an empty stomach. He hadn't eaten in a while anyway, and a couple of crepes sounded pretty good to him. He made his way to the small hallway that led to the kitchen. It was one of the last things built after he had reminded the excited Karol that they would need to cook and eat food. At the small table that stood in the center of the room sat Rita, munching on what looked like some kind of dough. She obviously hadn't noticed his presence for she kept writing in her notebook and chomping on that small meal she had. Whatever it was, it looked like raw dough of some sort.

"Hey, Rita. They want you in the meeting room," he called out.

The young mage didn't answer. Did she even hear him? Yuri walked over to her and hovered over her shoulder. Last time he checked her journal entries they proved to be quite amusing. What harm was there in taking another peek? Each page was framed by little cartoon doodles of cats. Sloppy handwriting covered both pages of paper. Quite a few of the sentences were scribbled out or had multiple circles drawn around them. Her handwriting might as well have been a whole different language entirely. Yet...he could still pick out what appeared to be his name a couple of times.

"Aww, is that a love letter to me?" he asked playfully.

Now she heard him. The brunette jumped and slammed her notebook shut. Even before she whipped around to glare at him for invading her privacy, Yuri could see the blush that spread all the way to her ears. He grinned at her, reaching out to stroke her cheek. And surprisingly, she didn't smack him, swat him away or pull away. She sat there with a mixture of anger and shock. It was cute.

"Well was it?" he asked again.

"O-of course not! How stupid can you seriously get?" Rita said quickly, turning back to the table, "I'm doing research. Obviously." She glanced back at him with a sneer. "And no, it has nothing to do with you."

"Aww, damn. I was hoping it did," he sighed sarcastically. He smirked a bit at her retaliation; high-pitched mocking that vaguely sounded like his previous sentence. The mage proceeded to ignore him at this point and reopened her notebook to what he noticed was a different page. He sighed. "Are you going to go back or...?"

"When I'm done here," she answered curtly. Rita picked off a bit more of her food and must have had an epiphany for she began scribbling furiously on her paper. Yuri sighed and decided to take a better glance at the doughy food she was eating. She must have noticed him staring because she stopped writing and observed his confused expression. "..Did you want some?" she asked after a couple seconds.

"I'm confused as to what it is," he answered, keeping his eyes on the plate.

Rita scoffed and pulled off another bit of her snack. "It's chicken, you idiot."

He stared at the plate for a bit longer before giving her a look. "...Are you sure?" he asked.

"Why don't you just try some and see for yourself?" she growled, snatching up the plate. The brunette held the dough-shaped apparent chicken in front of him, as far up as she could currently reach.

Yuri stared at it for a second before lightly pushing away the plate that was nearing his Adams Apple. He leaned down quickly so that he was face to face with the little cat girl before him. He grinned devilishly and moved in, licking her lips for a taste. It took everything he had in his power to not force his way inside and slam her down on the table right then and there. He had his libido under control...for the most part.

Behind those soft lips, he could feel Rita's body tense up. The swordsman gave her lower lip one final and slow run-over before standing up straight to ponder the taste. Rita had never been good at cooking. It wasn't that the food wasn't cooked right, it was the lack of flavor that got the little mage's cooking rights revoked a few times. It was obvious she hadn't improved. But then there was that small underlying taste of a flavor he couldn't quite place. A bit of sweetness mixed with...something spicy? He knew from experience that it couldn't possibly be the bland food she always made...which left the only other choice of...

"Wh-what did you do that for?" Rita stuttered, her face a dark red color.

"I wanted to taste your cooking," Yuri replied simply. It was a lie. A blatant lie. And every part of him wished she would buy it. Though that had a very slim chance. That train of thought was brushed aside. Finally, he got that connection he was looking for. The fire that roared inside him from those few moments of slightly intimate contact threw out his doubts and set his emotions in stone. It wasn't just the ears after all. He returned her stare with a mischievous look before holding out his hand. "Come on. Flynn and the others are waiting. We could really use your genius brain right now."

The compliment seemed to jar her from her thoughts. Rita smirked and her emerald eyes twinkled. "Of course. You guys would all be completely lost without me. I am famous for a reason, you know."

Yuri withheld the urge to roll his eyes at her. She got up from her chair and ignored his outstretched hand. He concealed his disappointment behind a straight face. He let his arm fall to his side as he started to lead the way. He heard her shoes clatter rapidly for a second as she hurried to catch up with him. He smiled inwardly to himself, wishing he could have seen her scramble. The very next thing he knew, his hand was suddenly feeling a bit warmer. Yuri glanced over to find Rita by his side, her face turned away from him and her hand gripping onto his. The grin he had grew wider as he gave her small hand a little squeeze. She grumbled a bit but didn't move away. It was good enough for Yuri. He let her stay and didn't push his luck any further with her. He was lucky enough to do as much as he did already. Besides, he couldn't risk having that dark part of him escaping. He tried to keep it hidden as much as he could and sealed away to the back of his mind. Though the binds on it weren't very tight.

When the two neared the door to the meeting hall, the male pulled away from her, breaking their link. Rita pouted for a second before he opened the door. She immediately regained her normal composure and walked into the room with perfect posture. Yuri smiled and shook his head slightly at her attempt at a tough and large appearance. Rita picked up the chair Karol knocked over and went so far as to slightly push the young boy out of the way to take his place. How arrogant could she get? But that was one of the parts of her that caught his interest in the first place.

The mage plopped down in the seat and rested her elbows on the table. Yuri stood a ways behind her and leaned against the wall. What a nice view of those ears...and her back.

...Dirty thoughts.

"Right. Here's what's going on, from my understanding," Rita started, gesturing to Flynn with her hands, "these guys use blastia. They're capable of using magic too, and-"

She was cut off by the knight. "Miss Mordio, we know this. My men and I have encountered the enemy already."

Rita stared at him for a few moments, not moving. She wrinkled her nose at him before letting out an aggravated huff. "That makes things simpler then...I guess," she grumbled. "Saves me a lot of talking." The genius mage cleared her throat and folded her hands on the table. "I'm not even sure how they have the blastia. There are a couple theories...but I really don't want to think about them."

"Please, Miss Mordio. It would be beneficial to hear any insight you have on the matter." Flynn urged, keeping his straight face.

Rita glanced over at Judith before settling her green eyes back into Flynn's. "Apathea were harvested for blastia." Almost immediately, the Krytian woman touched the side of her head, closing her eyes. She relaxed her body after a few seconds with a small smile. Rita took note of the lack of any urgency before continuing. "The odds that any buried blastia in ruins remained there after we converted them at Tarqaron are very slim to none. The only other two blastia remaining are in this room with us," She motioned to both Estelle and Raven separately. "These two. Which is most likely why they've been targeted."

The blonde knight frowned at her, trying to comprehend the information just given to him. "I don't entirely understand...just why is Lady Estellise being attacked? As far as I can see, she's human."

Rita leaned forward a bit, waving her hand slightly. "She is, and isn't. I've found out through lots of researching that Children of the Full Moon are born different than regular people. They have a special code imbedded within their bodies that gives them the properties of a blastia."

"Which is why I can use Healing Artes without a blastia," Estelle chimed in, smiling as if she contributed the most important piece of information.

Rita shot her a small smile before taking a deep breath to continue on. "In the spirit conversion, we used up four Apathea, and Alexei took the rest from any remaining Entelexia when he brought Zaude back above the surface. Judith's Ba'ul is the last known Entelexia remaining, and he's safe and ok. I hate to say it, but I have no idea how they managed to get any blastia."

Flynn, along with everyone else in the room nodded slowly, digesting her information. The room was silent for what seemed like a couple of hours before Raven decided to enter the conversation. "Yeager. Yeager was jus' like me."

The air in the room was filled with a sense of dread. Yuri spoke up first. "We never buried him...we just left him with Gauche and Droite."

"Oh, I hope they're ok," Estelle mumbled nervously, "what if they were captured, or even killed?"

"It would explain how they have blastia, if they got to Yeager's body," Rita added. She looked over at Estelle with a soft look. Yuri noticed and felt a twang of jealousy. "I'm sure they're fine, Estelle. Don't worry," the mage cooed.

Flynn cleared his throat to gain attention. Everyone in the room turned to look at him. "Our best plan of action would be to find the enemy base. From there, we can formulate a plan of action and," he was interrupted by a young voice.

"Excuse me, Flynn," Karol piped up, "it's nice that you're planning things out, but this is my guild building, and I'm the leader."

The knight blinked a couple times. Yuri suppressed a laugh as he watched his best friend get told off by the little boy. Though Karol had scolded him earlier that day for about the same thing. Karol tapped Rita on the shoulder and she moved from his seat without any sort of an apology. Her bit was done after all. She started walking over in Yuri's direction, who greeted her with a smile. She saw it, for she stopped in her tracks to stare at him. Her face flushed and she spun on her heel to march off in the opposite direction. Yuri didn't drop his smile. A little hard-to-get wasn't bad. It would make things more fun. He put his thoughts aside when his name was called.

"What?" he responded casually.

"Yuri, what do you think we should do?" Karol asked him, "I want to be careful...but we can't let these guys go unpunished. Like...like at Mount Temza when we fought Tyson and," he hesitated for a second, "Nan."

"You know what I think, Boss," Yuri said, "find the base, storm right in and kick the leaders ass to the month of Aphelion. And then some."

"Nah, we can't do that. These guys are crafty buggers. A head-on charge would prob'ly get us all killed," Raven added, "what we would need is a bit o' stealth. Goin' undercover an' whatnot."

It was Judith's turn to add her piece. "My, Raven, are you saying we should disguise ourselves as the enemy and infiltrate the base that way?"

"We could try to seduce them again!" Karol grinned, "that seemed to work well last time! Judith, you were amazing!"

The Krytian woman chuckled to herself and placed a hand on her chest, obviously enjoying the memory from the attention she grabbed. Raven nodded in agreement, placing a hand over his chin and stroking his stubble.

"Oh that would be the best sight ta behold...seeing our fine Judith expertly distracting any guards they have...brilliant, my boy, brilliant!" He applauded Karol from his chair., "I'm teaching you well, Karol."

"Like hell that would work," Rita scoffed from her new seat at the farthest end of the table, "that's a stupid idea."

"Are you volunteering yourself, Rita darlin'?" Raven grinned, turning to grin at her.

His comment sent both her and Yuri into a small state of shock. Rita in a sexy outfit. Those five words were enough to jumble his mind like a pile of old christmas lights. His imagination instantly went wild with every possible outfit. He had already seen Estelle and Judith in them, which really didn't help the images in his mind.

"Oh hell no! That's fucking stupid, you sick creep!" Rita yelled, her face a bright red, "B-b-besides, they already know me, s-so it wouldn't work!"

Just as Yuri was about to open his mouth, Raven stole the words he was about to say. "Ya could still do it anyway, ya know. Jus' fer shits an' giggles."

The old man had to duck, for a nearby vacant chair was hurled at his face. Yuri watched with a slight feeling of disappointment. Maybe if he asked her the same question...

"You're a goddamn freak! There's no way I would ever do that, ever!" Rita yelled, and Yuri could have sword he saw the smallest glance in his direction on her beet-colored face. It was too quick to determine if it was a shut-the-hell-up-and-don't-even-repeat-that look or a I-wish-you-had-said-it-instead look. She folded her arms and leaned back in her seat, watching the group.

"Let's save the fighting until we need it against our enemy," Estelle said nervously, trying to keep the peace.

"Her highness is right. We don't have the time to argue and fight amongst ourselves. We need all our energy for the fights ahead," Flynn added. The blonde turned to Karol. "Then, Karol, I would like to formulate a plan with you. We don't know where the base is, do we?"

Before Karol could answer, Yuri interrupted with a yawn. "Have fun, boss. Get me when you've sorted everything out and give me a little recap."

"But Yuri!" the little leader protested.

"Being tired won't help our chances of winning." he said calmly, "We've traveled a lot today and the day before. Dahngrest will be safe if they decide to attack. There's plenty of guilds here that can defend the city."

Karol frowned and exhaled slowly. After a few moments of silence he sighed. "Alright...I guess me and Flynn will just make plans. You're right. All of you need to rest. We don't know how far we'll have to travel."

"Thanks boss," Yuri grinned, moving to Karol and ruffling up his hair, "I know we can count on you."

Karol grinned and pushed Yuri's hand off his head. "I know, I know."

Yuri gave a half-wave before leaving the room. He was soon followed by Raven, Patty, Judith and Rita who each went off to their own separate rooms. All but Estelle. She approached Yuri and tapped him on the shoulder to grab his attention.

"Umm...Yuri?" she asked softly.

Yuri turned his head and raised an eyebrow to show she had his attention.

"Have you, umm...given any thought to what I said earlier" Estelle asked again, her cheeks a light rosy color, "I-I mean, it's ok if you haven't. I'm just curious."

Yuri turned to face her fully and put his weight on one leg. "Estelle, I think we have more important things to worry about right now," he said with a small smile.

"R-right. I'm sorry," she apologized, looking down on the ground.

Yuri shook his head slowly, the smile still on his face. He placed a hand on her head and messed up her hair lightly, "Try to stay focused for me, ok?" he asked gently.

Estelle perked up her head and smiled. "Ok, Yuri. For you, I will."

Yuri removed his hand from her head and let it drop by his side. "I think staying in Judy's room would be best for you tonight. She's a strong fighter and can do a good job of keeping you safe."

Estelle blinked a couple of times and opened her mouth as if to speak. She must have decided against it and closed her mouth with a small smile. "Yeah. Which way...?" She looked around nervously.

Yuri pointed down a hallway just to the right. "Second room on the left," he said.

Estelle looked back at him. "...And your room?"

"Furthest on the right," he answered, "but I'm going to be sleeping, you know."

Estelle nodded quickly and tried to hide her small blush. "R-right. Umm...I'll see you later then, Yuri. Good night." She bowed her head before walking down the hall to Judith's assigned. Room. Yuri sighed and went off to his own room, thinking about what to do with her would come later. Right now, resting for the battles ahead was much more important.

* * *

><p>Yuri Lowell opened his eyes. His vision caught the all-too-familiar ceiling of his room in Brave Vesperia's headquarters. He sat up, his mattress creaking slightly from the shift in weight. It was an old bed, but he didn't mind. It was better than sleeping on the cold dirt. He swung his legs over the edge of his bed and stared at his walls.<p>

"Yuri...? Where are you going?" a voice asked from behind him.

Yuri turned around to find Rita on his mattress a good couple of feet away from him. He felt his heart rate pick up when his dark eyes traveled down her body. She wore her uniform...if that was called wearing anything. The dull pink tie hung loosely around her neck and was the only thing keeping her shirt slightly together. Each button down the front had been undone, exposing her creamy skin and her red undershirt, which was doing a poor job of covering up her small chest. Her apron lay under her knees messily, as if it had been ripped form her body. The black skirt had been disheveled from it's place around her hips and exposed her thigh and the pure white panties she wore.

And to top it all off, she had those godforsaken ears on top of her head.

Yuri could feel the heat rising to his face at an alarming rate. No poker face of his could cover it up. He cleared his throat and asked her, "Rita? What are you doing?"

"You're the one that called me in here, remember?" she replied, her voice strangely sweet, "we started talking about our plans, then we were talking about life...then, you know..." She blushed and looked away, a small smile on her lips.

Yuri was confused. "Are you feeling ok?" he asked, "you never act like this."

The half-naked cat girl frowned. "Of course I am. I should be asking you that question." Her voice went back to normal, how he remembered. That was better. The brunette crawled over to him and took a seat on the edge of his bed. She looked up at him with sparkling green eyes before sighing and resting her head on his shoulder. She meowed as she nuzzled into him gently.

Yuri was, for a rare moment in his life, utterly lost. This wasn't the firecracker he had grown fond of. This was an entirely different Rita. This Rita was sweet and cute...well, she was always that cute. He couldn't deny that fact to himself. Part of him wanted to shove her off and stay away. It could be a trap, or some sort of other strange device to get him to let his guard down. Yet...

"Rita, it would be best if you...stopped that and moved back to the other side of the bed." he said calmly.

The mage pouted and looked up at him. "Why? What if I don't want to?"

He glanced over at her, keeping his face forward. "I mean it, Rita."

"No. You're not the boss of me," she said smugly, snaking an arm around his, "I'm going to stay put."

"I'm warning you, once I lose control, I can't get it back." The male faced her fully this time, his black eyes sharper than usual. "I don't feel like being responsible if you get hurt."

Rita huffed and released his arm, pulling away. Just as he wanted her to. Just when he thought he was safe, the young mage got on her knees on the mattress and leaned into him again, this time putting her mouth right by his ear. "...I dare you," she breathed.

Yuri suppressed a shudder. How in the world did she know about that spot? He reacted quickly, catching her chin with his hand. He brought her face incredibly close to his and stared her down. "Don't say I didn't warn you," he whispered, his black eyes gleaming as they stared at what would soon be his prey. Yuri moved quickly, pinning her down on the mattress in the blink of an eye. He gave her a victorious smirk before moving down to kiss her roughly...

...When a swift knock on his bedroom door woke him up from his dream.


	12. Closer

**A/N: I apologize for the delay. I had to rewrite some stuff for this chapter and add a few more pieces. Not to mention changing the entire ending. I also apologize for Yuri in this one. He's slipped away from me and ended up too playful...again. .w. I hope it's good enough for the wait I put everyone through. Enjoy~**

* * *

><p>Yuri Lowell jolted upright. He blinked a couple of times before looking around. His bed was empty, save for his own body. He frowned. A good part of him had hoped that dream was reality. He took a moment to observe the dark red light that streamed through his window. The sun was setting. He had been out for a while. The knocking came faster and he groaned.<p>

"Yeah, hold on," he called, getting himself out of bed.

The knocker continued to rap at the door regardless of what he said. Yuri rolled his eyes and opened his door quickly with a loud, "What?"

"Uhh, excuse me?"

A frowning Rita glared up at him, her arms crossed and her foot tapping. She hadn't changed her outfit, which was slightly disheveled on her small body. That combined with her ruffled-up hair gave her the appearance of one who just woke up.

"Can I help you?" Yuri asked, trying to push any remainders of his dream out of his head.

"I donno. I don't feel like talking to people who yell at me for no reason," Rita huffed, shifting her weight, "I should leave you right now." She paused, as if contemplating the thought. After a few seconds, Rita pursed her lips and looked Yuri in the eye. "...Karol and blondie finished talking. They told me to get you and Judith up."

"Soo...what are the plans?" Yuri asked, crossing his arms.

Rita pushed him aside and walked into his room as if it belonged to her. "Something about information-gathering," she said casually before taking a seat on his mattress, "we're supposed to be looking for the main hideout. In ways that won't, you know. Get us all killed."

Yuri started to shut the door before slowing. He watched her carefully before shutting them in, looking for any sign of discomfort. Rita had taken to toying the ears on her head before smoothing out her clothes. She didn't seem to mind. He shrugged and closed the door fully before turning to face her. "And you came here to tell me that little bit of information?" he asked, crossing the room to her, "not to mention you made yourself quite at home."

"I didn't feel like standing," Rita shrugged with a straight face.

The dark-haired male raised an eyebrow. He set his weight on one leg and placed a fist on his hip. "I'm sure that's the only reason you came to visit me."

"Yeah, it is." she said sharply.

Yuri sighed and shook his head slowly. "If those are the plans, what are you doing here?"

"Being a messenger of course," she replied, stretching her arms over her head. She let out a yawn before slumping over, catching her head in her hands. "Wanna go back to bed though..." she grumbled.

"You're sitting on one, aren't you?" he grinned, motioning to his mattress.

She picked her head up near instantly. "Your bed? Ew. Why in the world would I ever want to lay there?" Rita asked, wrinkling her nose. She acted disgusted, but she couldn't hide a small blush from his eyes.

"It's comfy," Yuri said casually. He took a seat next to her, resting his elbows on his knees. He looked over at her with a grin. "You can sleep here. I'll keep you safe."

Rita watched him carefully. After a moment, she closed her eyes and huffed.

"I might take you up on that." Before he could react, Rita leaned in closer to him, holding up her index finger. "_Might,_ I said. So don't get any little creepy ideas in your head. You got that?"

The swordsman raised his hands defensively. "Easy there. I'm not going to do anything to you. But..." He grabbed the hand she held close to him and held it above her head. "I think you're the one with 'creepy ideas', Rita. The thought of doing anything to you hadn't even crossed my mind."

_In that scenario, at least. _A little voice in his mind finished the sentence. Yuri chose to ignore it for the time being. He couldn't let himself lose control now.

Rita, on the other hand, exploded into a massive blush. "I...that's! Wh-who said I had any kind of thoughts like that?" she stammered, "That's stupid! You're stupid! Th-there's no reason for me to even think about you in that kind of way!"

Yuri rolled his eyes with a small smirk. He released her hand and let his own fall back to his side. "I'm a little hurt by that, little kitty."

"You should be," she huffed, folding her arms, "and don't call me 'kitty'. You sound like the old fart."

"Would you prefer kid? Kiddo? Squirt?" Yuri asked, a grin on his face.

"I'm not a kid!" Rita yelled.

Yuri shrugged. He placed a hand on her shoulder and traced her arm down to her wrist with his fingertips. A bit more of an intimate touch then he intended, but she allowed it to pass. "You're short. You look remarkably like one. You definitely act like one. Therefore, I'm treating you like one."

_It restricts a lot of things too. So many things... _Nope. Not that line of thought again.

She moved to a kneeling position and gripped one half of the collar of his shirt. "Stop talking to me like I am one. I'm just as grown up as you or Judith, maybe moreso."

Yuri moved fast. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close to him. Her arms were trapped where they were, and she struggled loosely to free herself. The male stared her straight in the eyes, his black ones piercing her and forcing her fight to cease.

"If you want me to treat you like an adult, you had better be prepared to face the consequences," he whispered, moving his face dangerously close to hers. He could feel her breath hitch on his lips, which weren't very far from the young mages'. "do you still want to be treated like an adult?"

"Of...of course I do," Rita breathed, not bothering anymore to try and move away.

Yuri chuckled under his breath. "It's a shame...if only you were a couple years older." He pulled his face away from hers to observe her reaction. Rita's face was a vibrant red, her green eyes widened.

"What does that matter?" she asked quietly.

Yuri paused for a second, in mock deep thought. "Let's just say...there's been a few, how did you put it...'creepy thoughts' swimming around."

The female gasped and tried to free herself again. Just as she opened her mouth to more than likely yell at him for making such a comment, Yuri moved a hand and placed an index finger on her lower lip to quiet her.

"I can't go that far just yet. However, a little...kiss or two wouldn't be harmful." He said in a low voice. Yuri moved his hand and closed the gap between their faces, moving slowly to not scare the treasure he held in his arms. She didn't struggle and only let out a whimper or two from her dominance melting away. This was perfect. He was never a man of words—especially when it would come to saying those three specific ones. He was so close now. He could feel her breath in short bursts on his lips.

Three loud pounds rattled his door on its hinges. "Yuri! Yuri come quick! Yuriii!"

The distressed voice of Karol came from the other side of the door. Yuri pulled away from his prey, trying not to curse loudly. How many more interruptions would there be before he could make his claim?

"Yeah, I'm in here," he called, releasing Rita. The mage growled and gave him a spiteful look before turning away, crossing her arms and legs. Yuri smiled a bit, taking the time to observe the blush that emitted off Rita's face. She got more adorable by the day. He could admire her later. The main focus was to answer Karol before the little boy got a hernia. He made it to his door and opened it a bit, making sure he could stand in the doorway, and Rita was blocked.

"Yuri!" Karol cried as soon as he saw the dark-hared male, "we've got a problem! Flynn said he was going to get looking and he's gone missing!" The tiny guild leader looked like he was going to have a stroke. "Estelle went with him and she's gone too!"

Yuri's face fell and locked into a deadly stare. "What direction did they go in?" he asked sternly.

Karol's body shook as he forced his brain to remember. "I think...to the west. By where the blastia control used to be."

"Give me one second. I'll head out." Yuri said.

Karol beamed and wiped one of his eyes. "You're the best Yuri," he said happily, "I'll go...umm...do something to help too!" With that, he took off down the hallway, his footsteps fading fast.

Yuri shut the door and took three long strides back to his bed. Rita gave him a questioning look as he picked up his most trusted sword, the Second Star.

"Mind filling me in?" she asked.

Yuri paused to look at her. "Flynn and Estelle are missing. And with those creeps out there, I'm going to have to move fast."

"I'm going with you," Rita announced, standing up.

"You're staying put. We can't risk anymore lives." Yuri said sternly.

Rita huffed and clenched her hands into fists. "But what if you get hurt?" she asked.

The swordsman stared at her for a moment. He must have stared too long, for she blushed lightly and looked away. "I-I'm worried about Estelle!" she said quickly, "she's a primary target and in a lot of danger."

Yuri raised an eyebrow at the abrupt change of subject. It wasn't important now. "Just keep yourself safe," he said calmly, turning to leave. After a moment he added under his breath, "I don't need to worry about you getting hurt either."

Rita gave him a questioning look. She shook her head to clear it and followed him out the door. As soon as the two left the main building, Yuri broke out into a near sprint through Dahngrests streets. Rita ran not too far behind him.

"Damn, they're both stupid," Yuri growled to himself, "Flynn know how much danger she's in, and she does too! What the hell made him think it would be a good idea to take her out casually like this?"

The further the two ran, the less crowded the streets became. Not even the usually busy tavern Rita helped out at had a soul around. Yuri slowed to a stop, letting his senses take in the surroundings. The mage caught up with him quickly, panting lightly from the run.

"Where...did everyone go?" she asked, catching her breath.

"I'm not sure...but I really don't like the situation," Yuri replied. All of his senses were on full alert. He scanned the surrounding area as far as his eyes would let him. However, the shadows cast from the setting sun made the surroundings darker than usual. The perfect hiding spot for the enemy.

"This way," he said quickly, starting down the alleyway, "Rita, I hope you're ready for a fight."

"Hold on!" Rita cried out, "I have to...ergh...get this stupid thing off."

Yuri turned and was met with Rita struggling to remove her pink tie from around her neck. The knot appeared to be tangled up and she was having one hell of a time with it. The swordsman blinked and watched her curiously before finally asking, "What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm skilled with belts, whips, chains and scarves," Rita answered, finally untangling the knot, "this should work just as well as a weapon."

Yuri shrugged. "As long as you can handle yourself."

Just as they started to head into the darkened alleyway, the fast approaching clicking of footsteps echoed around them. Yuri readied his sword to fight the enemy.

"Yuri!" called a familiar voice.

Estelle materialized from the darkness, a relieved smile on her face. "Yuri! I found you! And you're ok!"

Yuri lowered his blade. "Estelle? You're not hurt, are you?"

Estelle shook her head. "I'm fine Yuri," she smiled. A worried expression took over her face as she looked side to side. "...You...haven't seen Flynn?"

"Flynn? We were more concerned about you!" Rita stomped forward and placed herself between the two. She glared up at Estelle, her hands clenched into fists. "Do you know how stupid that was of you to go out? Did you forget you're a huge target?" Rita gripped onto Estelle's upper arms tightly. "Do you even care how worried we...how worried _I_ was? That you could have been captured or hurt or even worse?"

Estelle flinched and looked at the ground, the walls-anywhere but the angry mage before her. "I...I'm sorry..." she said timidly. Somehow, she gained the courage to look the two in the eyes again before speaking up. "I know they're after me...so I thought that if I went with Flynn, we would be able to lure them out faster."

Now it was Yuri's turn. He frowned and put a hand on Rita's shoulder before gently pulling her off and away from Estelle. "Do you know how reckless that is? Using yourself as bait. What the hell is that? I don't ever want to hear you doing something like that ever again."

Estelle gave him a look that would have better suited a heartbroken puppy. She closed her eyes and hung her head. "I'm sorry..."

The swordsman sighed. He placed a hand on her head and ruffled her hair slightly. "You're not hurt, we should just be glad for that,"

A smile grew on the princess's face. "Yes."

Once again, Rita muscled her way between the two. Something about her now gave her a more aggressive stance. She huffed and looked between the swordsman and princess before stating, "Are we done sharing feelings? Because I'm positive those guys won't pause for whatever moment our reunion has." She turned towards Yuri, venom spitting from her green eyes. "And your blonde friend is still missing. Or did you forget?"

Yuri stared at her for a moment, frozen from the unblinking glare she was giving him. The petrification only lasted a couple of seconds before a determined fire rekindled in the male's eyes. "As much as I believe he can take care of himself, I doubt anyone alone can hold their own against a pack of these guys."

"Oh, I think we split up that way," Estelle piped up and pointed down the alley she emerged from. "Maybe from the left too...It was very dark."

"It'll be good enough of a lead." Yuri looked down at Rita. "Save that angry energy for the fight instead of me."

Rita grumbled and folded her arms. "Can we go now?" she snapped.

Yuri nodded once before heading down the dark alley at a steady jog. Estelle and Rita tagged after him, keeping relatively close to the swordsman. No sound was made, other than their own boots clacking against the brick pavement. It was way too quiet. Yuri slowed to a pace slightly faster than a speedwalk. He had to rely on his hearing for any sounds of battle now. The dim light from the nearly set sun wasn't enough to continue lighting their way.

"Estelle, are you sure it was this way?" he asked in a low voice.

"Positive. I definitely remember turning here. There's a few different colored bricks in that side of the building. I know I passed those." She pointed to some yellowing bricks to the party's right.

"Then where the hell is this guy?" Rita hissed quietly.

Not long after she spoke, a small gust of wind rushed by the group. Yuri immediately tossed his scabbard aside. But the wind disappeared as soon as he was completely battle-ready. Everything was still once more. Until Flynn's voice came from a short distance.

"Don't run, you coward!"

The blonde knight emerged from the darkness, sword at the ready. Yuri fell into a defensive stance and held up his sword to block the attack. "Easy, Flynn! It's just us!" he yelled.

Flynn managed to stop his attack in mid-swing, just before attacking his own best friend. He let his arm fall back to his side and there was a small clank as the tip of the blade struck the ground.

"Yuri? What are you doing out here?" the knight asked. "Is Lady Estellise with you?"

"I'm here, Flynn," Estelle smiled, making her presence known.

Yuri dropped his guard and stood up straight. "So, were you not listening when we told you how dangerous these guys are, or what?"

"I was trying to get a lead, Yuri," Flynn frowned, "by tracking them down, we could attempt to take one hostage and extract information-"

"And you honestly believe they would just smile and tell us the exact whereabouts of their hideout?" Yuri interrupted harshly.

"Of course not. It might take a few days of questioning."

Yuri cut him off again. "We don't have 'a few days', Flynn. They can wipe out a city in a couple hours. I don't think they'll just wait patiently around while a comrade of theirs is sitting in your cell."

Flynn opened his mouth to argue, but shut it just as quickly. Yuri knelt down to grab his scabbard, the smallest of smug smiles on his face. "We should be getting back. The Boss is pretty upset. I wouldn't want him to worry himself to death."

The reunited group turned around and began their little trip back into the main streets of Dahngrest. The alley way was brighter, despite the twilight period being almost over. The four exited the alleys into the now crowded streets. Estelle gasped loudly, sending the other three into a battle stance.

"Flynn! You're hurt!" she exclaimed. The princess darted to the commandants side.

"Could you not give us all heart attacks like that?" Rita scolded, folding her arms.

Estelle flinched. "I-I'm sorry..." She gave Rita a quick apologetic glance before turning her full attention on Flynn. The knight was indeed in bad shape now that the moonlight reached him. Bits of his armor was burned off and a dark rust-colored stain seeped through the cloth on his shoulder. When the clouds parted to reveal the moon, a slight limp he held became magnified.

"They're not deep, Lady Estellise," the knight started.

"No. No, this won't do. You have to get some medical attention right away!" Estelle maneuvered under one of his arms, placing it around her shoulder. She tried pulling him along, but because he was covered in armor and naturally heavier than her, she didn't get very far. Estelle desperately turned to Yuri for help. The swordsman sighed and moved to Flynn's other side, hoisting the commandants other arm over his shoulder.

"I'm doing this for her, you know," he muttered in a volume only Flynn could hear.

Flynn nodded briefly, staying silent. Giving him a hard time about his dignity could wait. He turned to Rita, who was silently watching behind them. "Want to be our lookout, kitty?" he asked.

Rita hissed at him in a very catlike manner. The thought of her doing that on purpose fleeted through his mind. Nevertheless, she complied and kept a watch on the crowd with her makeshift weapon at the ready. As much as he wished he could have just kept her in the smallest corner of his vision, Yuri had to focus on parting the crowd and helping Estelle carry around a less than amused Flynn. The trio slowly made it back to the Brave Vesperia headquarters where Judith, Raven, and a very nervous looking Karol greeted them.

"Yuri! Everyone, you're all ok!" the little boy greeted after they shut the door behind them.

Flynn shook himself Estelle and Yuri and bowed deeply to Karol.

"I'm sorry I couldn't stop them," he apologized.

Karol ran up to him and shook his head. "No, it's fine. Did you get any leads though?" he asked.

"Flynn is hurt, Karol," Estelle noted, "I think questions can wait."

Karol jumped a bit. "R-right! Let's get you taken care of, Flynn," he said with a small smile.

It wasn't long before the knight was reluctantly led away by Karol and Estelle to a different room. After they were out of earshot, Yuri opened his mouth. "So, why didn't you guys leave as well?" he asked.

Judith crossed her arms. "Raven convinced Karol it would be best to stay here and wait for you guys. I think he was just a scared little baby." She shot the old man a knowing smile as she finished her sentence. "And poor defenseless me couldn't go out unprotected. Poor little Patty wanted her 'big sis' to make sure she would be safe too."

It was good the little pirate wasn't in the room at the time. The last thing Yuri needed to listen to was another shouting fest from the little blonde girl. He had enough of that on their journeys. He folded his arms and smirked. "I bet you're defenseless."

Judith put on a look of shock and held her hand to her mouth. "My, Yuri, how is it you don't believe me?" she gasped.

A certain little mage decided enough banter was enough. She stepped forward to make herself noticeable. "Can we be done flirting? It's late, I'm tired, and we all need to sleep."

Raven stretched with an obnoxiously loud yawn. "I'm all for a lil' shut-eye. I worked my old bones too hard t'day."

"Yes. Eating an entire roast is very hard work," Judith commented.

"For my stomach!" the old man said defensively, "now, I think I'll go sleep off all that an' get some energy for t'morrow." Without even waiting for a response, he turned and left, whistling a tune.

"And what are you going to do, Judy?" Yuri asked the Krityan.

Judith put her arms behind her and smiled at him. "I think a little stroll would be nice. After all, I'm not a target, and if I get into danger, Ba'ul can always help me escape." She casually sauntered past Yuri, pausing for the briefest of moments to whisper, "I'm sure I'm a third wheel here anyway."

Yuri just watched her leave, keeping a straight face the whole time. Judith playing matchmaker was just as terrifying. He sighed and turned to Rita. She was currently staring at him, her arms crossed and her foot tapping idly on the floor. Angry, as usual, for some unknown reason. Just the way he preferred her.

"And the one who was complaining about sleeping is still awake." The male commented, putting his weight on one leg, "Children need to get to bed early, you know."

"Shut up," she grumbled. She never let up that stare, keeping her green eyes transfixed on him. The stare went on for longer than he wanted it to. And the silence gave him an uncomfortable feeling. He shifted his weight to one of his legs and folded his arms. "Can I help you with something?" he asked after a few more moments.

Rita put on a defensive stance and walked stiffly closer to him. If he didn't recognize this as a nervous aggressive walk from her, he would have thought there was something wrong with her legs. She must have determined she was close enough, for she stopped before him. Yuri took notice of her pouting, angry face. What an adorable little stray kitty...

Rita moved quick. Her arm shot up and she grabbed him by one of his open shirt flaps. The cat mage pulled him down until the he was at her eye-level. Then, without another word, she took her other fist and punched him squarely in the stomach. Yuri grunted as the wind was knocked out of his body. He _had_ to remember just how strong she was.

"That was for what you did when I was eating earlier!" she yelled. Yuri had no time to recover before she threw him back and sent a flying kick to his side. The male stumbled, but managed to stay on his feet. "And that was for saying all that stuff in your room." she growled. Rita stomped over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. Yuri braced his body for another hit. Rita turned his body and wrinkled her nose slightly. She closed her eyes, moved in and placed the tiniest of kisses on his cheek.

"And that's..." she mumbled, the rest of her sentence lost. Rita stomped her foot and let out a growl that escalated quickly into a quiet scream. She spun on her heel and stormed off and down a hallway. Yuri finally caught his breath in time to hear a door slam shut. He rubbed his stomach and side where she hurt him. The girl was too strong for her size. Her amazon-like strength wasn't important now. He didn't imagine that last little bit. He couldn't have. Yuri smiled to himself and headed back to his room for a rest. Rejection didn't seem like an issue anymore. That was something to be happy about.


	13. A Bit of Dramu

Raven was jolted awake by the spare room door he was resting in slamming open. He nearly fell out of his cot and had to hang onto the edges to keep from toppling onto the floor.

"Holy hell, what was that?" he asked, now wide awake.

In the doorway stood Rita, not looking too pleased. She held a folder with papers exploding out the sides in one arm, and a collection of three text books in the other.

"What a pleasant surprise from everyones' fav'rite waitress," the old man grinned.

Rita marched over to him and dropped her stuff on the floor, making a loud thud. She growled and pushed him over before stooping to grab a book.

"Shut up. It's maintenance time," she said sternly.

"An' what's got you in the brightest of moods?" he asked, undoing his shirt enough to reveal his artificial heart.

"I said shut up. I need to concentrate here," Rita growled.

She gave him a piercing glare that would make the strongest of monsters think about it's life choices. Silently, she began to get to work, waving her hand over the core and quickly chanting the incantation to bring up the screen. Numbers and formulas flew by as all the information was opened to her. Rita grabbed a pen she kept in her apron and a random piece of paper from her folder. She began jotting things, down, muttering to herself. Raven sat there patiently, as he always did. It was silent for a while before he got bored and decided to talk again.

"No problems?" he asked.

"It's using up any remaining Aer. Which is good. The Mana conversion formula I added seems to be doing it's job." Rita replied between notes. "It's transferring at a good pace...you might even get to live past 50."

"That's just amazin', Rita," the old man said with a smile.

Rita simply shrugged with an "ehh". Raven waited a few more moments. "Now that you're all civil, mind tellin' me what's gotten ya in a piss poor attitude this time?"

Rita grabbed one of her books and scanned through a couple pages. "Do you know how weird it is to talk to you?" she replied.

"I jus' wanna help my lil' girl out," he shrugged. Rita stopped everything to look up at him with a glare. He raised his hands defensively. "Hey now, don't take that the wrong way."

It was enough for her. She game a "hmph" before returning to her notes. She tapped a few things on the holographic keyboard before waving her hand across it again. It disappeared into little light particles. The mage closed her book with a small sigh. "It doesn't really matter, does it? You already know everything."

"More matters of the heart, huh?" Raven asked, buttoning his shirt back up. The girl shrugged, refusing to make eye contact with him. "Come on, maybe I can help ya. A depressed Rita jus' isn't right," Raven added.

"...I hate being confused," Rita mumbled after a while. She looked up at him, a scowl on her face. "Every time I close my eyes, his damn face just shows up. I have this stupid nagging urge to travel with him everywhere he goes. I can't even fucking think straight when he smiles. And I just...geez..."

"That, my dear, is what normal people like like me call 'love'." Raven replied.

Rita face turned a bright red. She huffed and looked away. "Y-yeah right. Can you not make shit up and help me?"

"Believe me 'r not, that's what it boils down ta. Trust this old man." the archer said, pointing to himself.

"So what the hell am I supposed to do?" Rita growled.

Raven scratched his stubble idly. "...Ya should probably get some sleep. It's a tough thing ta think on after a long day like you had."

"Yeah, I guess," Rita mumbled, gathering up her stuff.

Just as she turned around to leave, Raven grinned. "You're not headin' back ta your lil room, are ya?"

Rita froze and turned around. "...What?" she growled quietly.

"Wouldn't you rather spend the night up in someone elses room? Perhaps with a...swordsman?"

He barely dodged one of the books that was sent hurtling in his direction.

"I-I-I can't just walk in there!" she yelled, her face beet red.

"Calm down, kitten," Raven said quickly, "I'm tryin' ta help ya!" He flinched as she prepared to send another heavy-looking book at his face. However, she stopped and allowed him to speak. "There's a way that tends ta work near every time. If ya say ya had a bad dream, it'll be easy ta get all up next ta them." Raven's smile faded slightly. "Tried it on Judith once. Got to know what her boot tasted like." He ended his sentence with a sigh.

"Oh ew! I really don't want to know anything else like that, "she said with a slight retch, "that's a really stupid lie, too. There's no way in hell I'll ever use that."

The old man shrugged before flopping back in his cot. "Suit yerself," he yawned.

Rita shifted her weight and materials and cleared her throat lightly. "I, uhh...thanks for listening. I guess." she mumbled.

"Anytime," Raven called.

Rita left quietly, heading back to her closet. She dropped off her books and notes before stopping to think. She stood in place for a while, her eyes closed. Eventually, she gave a shaky exhale before making an about-face and leaving her room.

"Ohh... dammit!"

First it was the suns rays that hit his eyelids. Then the combined sounds of people chatting and shouting out sale prices in hopes of attracting customers reached him. Yuri Lowell grumbled and opened his eyes slowly. He was faced with the opposite wall of his room, his door slightly ajar. That was strange...he could have sworn he closed it before going to sleep. His eyes shot wide open and he jolted upright. He immediately grabbed for his weapon which was always by his bedside. He quickly scanned his room. Everything seemed the same...

"Holy shit, do you have to spaz...?"

Yuri paused from the groggy-sounding voice. That all-too-familiar annoyed voice. Yuri turned his attention downwards and to his right. There was a second lump under his covers. A smaller lump. One that wore his only real weakness.

Yuri found himself to be perplexed. This wasn't another dream, was it? It seemed too real...then again, so did his last pleasant one. He needed to find out. Yuri casually crossed his arms and gripped his forearm tightly. There was a small bit of pain, so this had to be happening. He let his body relax and paused before finally asking, "...Rita, why are you in my bed?"

Sure enough, the little mage was laying on her side, tucked under his covers. She opened one eye halfway and looked up at him. "Sleeping," she answered, "well, I _was_...until you decided to just jump around and wake me up."

"That doesn't answer my question," he frowned.

The longer he looked at her, the more he felt his heart rate pick up. Even though she was glaring at him, she still looked so innocent. The blood was beginning to rush to his cheeks. It took all he had to keep it away.

Rita, on the other hand, had no such ability to control her blushing. As if he didn't notice enough already. The brunette shifted a bit, curling up more. "I'm not telling. It's stupid," she said.

"I think I have a right to know why someone is randomly in my bed, Rita," Yuri said sternly. Really, he did want to know. Mainly to clear up his confusion. But that little voice that belonged to his dark side just wouldn't shut up. _You did something bad to her, didn't you? _

Rita gave an exasperated sigh. She still refused to look at him. "I...I was having a hard time sleeping, ok?" she confessed. The girl gripped the blankets tightly and curled up into a ball. "I had a damn nightmare and didn't feel safe so I came here. Are you happy now, jackass?"

Yuri could have sighed with relief. His mind had ventured into some pretty dangerous territory there. He simply grinned and patted her head. Rita grumbled and turned away from him, rolling over to her other side. The dark-haired male grinned before stretching and yawning loudly.

"Well, you can stay here if you want. I'm pretty sure Flynn and Karol will be dying to get back on our search." Yuri stood up, taking his sword with him. He had a feeling he'd be needing it. There was a quick rustle from behind him.

"Uh-uh. You are NOT leaving without me," Rita said quickly.

The male turned in time to catch Rita scrambling out of his bed. Part of the blankets had snagged on her foot. She ended up bringing it with her for a couple steps. Once situated and after cursing the blanket, Rita quickly brushed off her waitress attire. It was wrinkled form the sleep and shifted around in awkward positions. Her iconic cat ears were askew from tossing and turning. Once she had gotten the majority of her outfit looking normal, Yuri approached her. Now, he was an impulsive kind of man. And he didn't really feel like taking a other punch to the gut if he said what was on his mind. He reached up and lightly pinched those lovely feline ears, moving them gently into place.

"There," he said once finished, "now you look...purr-fect."

Rita gave him a look. "That was an extremely stupid thing to say. And you're stupid for saying that." She paused for a brief moment to shoot him a small smirk. "But you've always been stupid."

"So I've heard," Yuri shrugged. He turned to the side and motioned toward the door with his head. "As much as I'd love to spend all day in my room with you, there's things we need to do."

He received a harsh stomp on the foot before the mage headed out the door. That was something that would disappear with time...hopefully. He may have been strong, but daily beatings from Rita would cripple him pretty quickly. Yuri followed her out, shutting his door behind him. She was waiting for him, standing in the middle of the hallway. She had her arms folded and her foot tapping in a slow beat on the floor.

"I just remembered. I have things I need to do today. And I'm not waiting for you or anyone else," she announced bluntly. Yuri raised an eyebrow and was about to open his mouth to speak when she continued. "There's something I've been curious about and I have to see if my hypothesis is wrong."

"Are you sure you want to go out by yourself? It's dangerous," he said, putting his weight on one leg.

She groaned and turned so she was facing away from him."Whatever. I don't care what you do. Just stay out of my way."

She turned around without giving him a chance to respond. Rita headed down the hall and towards the center of the building. Yuri was stuck in place, mesmerized by how he hadn't noticed how fluid her hips rocked back and forth as she walked...

"Hmm...her rear is quite nice to look at, isn't it?"

Yuri turned his head slightly to find Judith leaning against a wall. Her red eyes twinkled knowingly as they met his. She must have decided that their miniature staring contest had gone on for too long, for she looked back down the hallway. Rita was long gone.

"We should put a bell on your or something," Yuri commented.

"Oh, I think a bell would suit our little cat better. Don't you think?" The Krityan smirked. She got off the wall and took a few steps over to him. "Would you mind terribly if I asked how your sleepover was?" She reached up and tugged on his shirt slightly, as if adjusting it. "Your clothes are all twisted...my my, Yuri. I never would have guessed."

"Nothing happened," he said cooly, gently brushing her hands away.

Judith simply folded her arms and smiled her knowing smile at him. "I figured. Unless you were very quiet. I'd be impressed if that were the case. We both know how...loud she can get."

"You're not speaking from experience, are you?" the male asked, raising an eyebrow. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he had a strange feeling Rita would be into doing that kind of thing with the same gender. Not that he would have minded.

Judith gave him a look. She put her arms behind her and smiled devilishly. "No, I'd never do anything like that to her. I'm not you, Yuri."

The raven-hared male decided to not comment on that. He could have, but Judith had this way of changing his words around. "Is there a point to this?" he asked.

"I was just making an observation," Judith said with a small pout, "am I not allowed to?"

"Not when it's slander. I don't appreciate being made out to be any kind of pervert." Yuri responded.

"Say what you want. But I know what I can sense, and I'm not wrong." With that, the adult Krityan gave him one last final grin before turning and taking her leave to what he assumed was her room.

Judith was not important now. He first had to check if Rita had left yet. Even though he was fully confident in her fighting abilities, he still had to stay with her. To protect her at all costs. He turned the corner into the entrance-way, only to be stopped again.

"Yuri, I was looking for you." The blonde commandant had approached him, his usual hardened expression slightly softer, "after some discussion with Karol, I believe we have thought up a much more efficient way of going about finding our enemy's home base."

"Save it for later. Rita's got a plan." Yuri said, holding up one hand.

Flynn blinked a couple of times before clearing his throat slightly. "Are you certain it will fall through?" he asked.

Yuri's expression darkened ever so slightly. "Positive. There's nothing that brain can't figure out." He took a couple steps past his friend. "I know you're itching to go out and kick some ass. Cool down and wait a moment." With that, Yuri headed for the main door.

"Yuri, wait!"

The other male stopped again, his hand still on the handle. He stared at the wooden door for a moment before turning his head around to face Flynn. "This had better be important. I have to go out there."

"You can't leave, Yuri."

"And why the hell not?"

Flynn took a step forward. "Because you and I both know that she will follow you."

Yuri frowned and let out a low growl. The knight was right. If he went out there and tagged along with Rita, Estelle would be sure to follow. He knew that from experience that whenever that happened, she would be more worried about him and the others to watch her own back. Yuri was not about to let Estelle get kidnapped again. He reluctantly backed away from the door and faced Flynn.

"I'm staying for her safety." he said in a low voice. Yuri strode past the silent Flynn and towards the kitchen. It was morning and no amount of anger could cure the rumbling in his stomach. He could concentrate better after a snack anyway.

Yuri entered the small room and blinked a couple times. Estelle was sitting at the small table, delicately eating a oddly-shaped sandwich. At least she was here.

"Morning, Estelle," Yuri greeted, walking a bit closer to her.

The princess jumped when he spoke and looked up at him with wide eyes. "Oh.. good morning, Yuri," she greeted unenthusiastically.

Yuri walked over to her and was about to take a seat by her when she scooted away form hi,. She kept her teal eyes cast downward. The male frowned.

"Is everything ok?" he asked, taking a stool to sit on.

Estelle was quiet for a moment before blinking rapidly and facing him. "Hm? Oh yes, everything is normal and good." She put on the fakest smile he had ever seen before facing away again.

He chuckled. "You're the worst liar in the world, Estelle."

Estelle didn't find his joke that funny. "Yuri, I... I don't really feel like talking right now." she mumbled, "uhm...please just leave."

"Not until I find out what's been eating you," he said stubbornly.

The pink-haired girl stayed silent. She toyed with her bit of sandwich before setting it on her plate. She opened her mouth a few times, as if to speak, but always decided against it and fidgeted with her gloves instead. Finally, she mumbled a couple quiet words. "You could have just told me." Yuri continued to look at her with mild confusion. When he didn't answer, Estelle turned to fully face him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be spying last night...I wanted to make sure you were okay and...I saw you and..." After looking around nervously, she settled her teal eyes

right into his black ones. "...It would hurt less if you told

me earlier."

"Estelle..." Yuri started.

"Oh, what am I saying?" Estelle gave him the smallest of smiles and turned away. "I mean, I said I'd be happy for you no matter what, right?" She wiped at her eyes and sniffled quietly. "I'm sorry. I'm being very silly right now." The princess stood up quickly, placing her hands in front of her."E-excuse me, Yuri. I need to...go do something. Something important." She nodded her head in his direction briefly before leaving the room quickly.

Yuri, now left in an awkward silence by himself, closed his eyes and stood up from his chair. The beating or the kiss must have really screwed up his senses. He didn't even notice Estelle's presence. He should talk to her. Explain everything and hopefully calm her down. That seemed to be the best option at this moment. All he needed to do was not blow it. That conversation had stolen his appetite anyway. Yuri left the kitchen and was heading towards the sleeping quarters when he was stopped by a hand pulling him back.

"Hey you. Where do you think you're going?"

Yuri turned around and discovered Rita standing behind him, her fist still gripping the back of his vest. Goddamn, she really should get out of that uniform. It was far too distracting.

"I was going to find Estelle and have a few words with her," he answered. Might as well be honest.

Rita wrinkled her nose and frowned. She gave him a one-word response. "No." As soon as he opened his mouth to ask why, she interrupted him and began pulling him towards the meeting room. "My theory proved positive. I'm pretty sure I know where these assholes live. And you're coming with to listen to this."

"Does everyone else know about this?" he asked, breaking away from her grip.

"I told Fluke to get everyone when I walked in the door. Then you just waltzed out so I grabbed you myself." Yet another trademarked, bland, Rita response. He was curious as to what this supposed discovery was and didn't bother to respond. The faster the information was dealt, the sooner he could go wipe the floor with their enemy.

Rita opened the door first. It was more of a slam, Yuri noted. He silently followed her in, watching her skinny arms and half-assedly guessing to himself where her strength came from. The girl was quite small, after all.

As soon as he noticed her presence, Flynn stood from his chair and gave her a quick militant salute. "I've gathered everyone, as you've asked," he reported.

Rita brushed him off. She made her way to the front of the room and took a seat next to Karols' at the head of the large table. Yuri took a seat as well, and didn't notice how close he had been to Estelle before the princess switched chairs to a seat further away. He couldn't blame her for that.

"Did you find something out, Rita?" Karol asked, looking over to her. Rita cleared her throat and stood again. She folded her arms and began to speak.

"I went around town, looking for any of the surviving Aspio mages," she started, "at first I was going to get the numbers of how much Aer remained that still hadn't completely converted to mana. If that could be narrowed down, it would only be a matter of time before those assholes were powerless." Rita walked around to Karol's other side. "but I found out something much better than that. You see, everyone I talked to about the topic all said the exact same thing. They were all asked in some way, shape, and form to be part of something called, The Old Ages." The girl reached into her apron and pulled out a very folded and crumpled piece of paper. "Someone was kind enough to let me borrow this paper from them."

Yuri briefly wondered just how nicely she asked for the paper, or if the gift was an act of kindness in the first place. By taking a quick look at everyone elses' faces, he gathered they were all thinking the same thing. Rita, however, didn't notice the skeptical looks. She unfolded the paper and splayed it on the table.

"They're general directions written in a code only residents from Aspio would know. Naturally, I didn't need the reference book any researcher has to decode it." She smiled smugly before putting a serious stare back on. Rita leaned forward and placed her palms on the table on either side of the paper. "They're directions to Northeast IIlyccia. Specifically, that huge mountian range."

"But...that's where Aspio is," Estelle said, tilting her head slightly.

"That's where Aspio _was_." Judith corrected her, "Tarqaron had destroyed it in its emergence."

A heavy silence filled the room. Rita was the first and only one to break it.

"We need to go to the remains of Tarqaron."

By the time Ba'ul had managed to fly the troupe to a large field not far from their destination, night had fallen. Though the Entelexia was big, the world was bigger. It had taken the full day to fly across the vast uncharted forests of Tolbyccia and over the rolling meadows of Ilyccia. As soon as the last foot stepped off the Fiertia, the monster took to the skies quickly and disappeared into the night sky. Using moonlight between various passing clouds, the party began setting up camp quickly. They had brought little more than crude mats to sleep on, as it was Karol's orders to proceed cautiously and get a good rest before storming the base. A large campsite with fire was too conspicuous. Especially when near an enemy's main base. The group had agreed to taking shifts, keeping watch in case they were suddenly attacked. It had a high probability considering the location. One by one, every hour and a half, Brave Vesperia and their friends would wake each other up for a night watch.

Karol's second shift had rolled around, and the little boy had done a decent job of keeping himself awake and at the ready. But as the night pressed on, his stamina plummeted and soon, he was sleeping just as soundly as the rest of them. As the little boy feel deeper and deeper into slumber, his grip on his oversized sword loosened until the huge weapon hit the earth with a thump. The sound and vibration impact had been enough to jar awake a sleeping Rita. She grunted and opened her eyes quickly, sitting up. It didn't take her long to realize what the supposed threat really was and she grumbled under her breath from it. The young mage turned to lay back down before immediately stopping in place. She squinted to better see her sleeping place. The mat she set up was gone to be replaced by dirt. And a body. More specifically, half of a snoring body with an arm out at just the right length for her. When did she get so close to him? She sat up further and stretched before glaring at the swordsmans sleeping form.

"You look like a slob, Yuri..." she whispered, smiling slightly.

A rustle behind her caught her attention, and the sleeping Yuri became irrelevant. Slowly, she turned to face the threat, trying to stay as quiet as possible. Her guard dropped as a cloud passed to reveal the shape of Raven, carefully stepping over any sleeping party members. The brunette furrowed her brow and stood up, careful not to wake the sleeping Yuri. Curious, Rita followed him past the party and across the field, through some small patches of trees and bushes and into a small patch of forest before finally taking more action.

"Hey. Where do you think you're going?" the young mage called out.

The old man stopped and stood still, his shoulders slumping from her voice.

"It's far past yer bedtime, kiddo." the old man replied.

Rita took a step forward. "And you're just up and leaving the site. Did your senile old brain forget how much danger you're in?"

Raven turned around. Shadows had hidden most of his face, and it was hard for Rita to see his expression. So she approached him further. The older man sighed and shrugged. "Ya really should be goin' back ta bed, Rita."

"Not until you answer me!" she growled.

Raven scratched the back of his head. He was silent for a long while before taking a few steps towards her as well. "It's not a big deal. I'm jus' goin' out for a bit. Maybe shake things up a bit for our little friends in the ruins."

Rita's eyes widened as she pieced together his answer. She bared her teeth and stomped her foot, clenching her hands into fists. "No. No! You can't do that!" she yelled, "you can't keep putting yourself in danger. That's the stupidest thing that's ever come out of your mouth!" The girl stomped forward, fully intent on dragging him back to the camp. "You're coming back whether you like it or not."

The old man pulled away from her, holding up his hands defensively. "Easy there. You and I both know this body isn't going to last me. If I'm going ta die, I'd like to go by myself in some kinda fight. I'd hate ta go in front of you, or Yuri, or even little Karol."

"Stop talking like that! I..." She paused, flustered, "I'm not having my dad leave me again. So you're going to shut up, turn your ass around, and get back to the campsite."

He had now stopped walking just before the small girl, a look of utter peace on his face. "Calm down now, Rita dear," he started. Rita had interrupted him. "Don't call me that."

He paused and shook his head slightly. He bent down just enough to get at her eye level, looking her right in her green eyes. He placed a hand on her shoulder before speaking again. "If I die, then I'm gonna die. An' there's not too much I can really do about that. But if it's any cons'lation," He put on a broad, sincere smile. "I wouldn't have asked for a better daughter than you."

For the second time in the past week, Rita's brain stopped working. Her lower lip quivered and she could feel her eyes starting to swell with tears. Raven straightened up and gave her a quick pat on the head.

"Be a good girl, an' keep to yer studies. If ya do, you won't wind up in hell like me."

He turned around and continued on his way to the broken Tarqaron in the distance, moving faster than before. As for Rita, she stood in place and watched him leave, trying her hardest to keep somewhat of a straight face. She held a bad facade and before she knew it, she was cursing in his direction and wiping furiously at each and every tear that managed to escape.


	14. I'm out of clever chapter titles

**Quick lil A/N here: Starting with an apology for not updating. I haven't had the inspiration or plot to tie in the ending so far, if that wasn't obvious by now. This chapter has been a pain for me and has undergone heavy editing about four times. And it seemed like it came out rather...boring. And it doesn't make a lot of sense...But here it is, after more editing and revising. There will also be small to non-existent fluffy moments between Yuri and Rita as I'm getting to the heart of things. On a side note, there is probably about...two more chapters and an epilogue before it's finally over. **

**Hope this chapter is good enough for you guys. Because I'm seriously doubting it. .~.**

The sun had barely begun to rise when Yuri woke up. He blinked the sleep from his eyes and looked over to his side. He had felt someone crawl over to him in the middle of the night so finding Rita passed out on his chest wasn't a huge surprise. Her face was buried in his shirt and her fist was loosely gripped to his vest. He was slightly reluctant to do it, but Yuri moved the arm she lay on and curled it around her before starting to shake her gently.

"Rita. Wake up," he whispered.

After a couple seconds had passed, the girl shook her head slowly and held onto him tighter. She mumbled something at sounded a lot like a "I don't want to".

Yuri sighed and started to sit up. Stubbornly, Rita continued to cling to him. Yuri frowned and plucked at her cat ears. This got her to look up at him, her eyes pink and brow furrowed. He smiled.

"There you are. Come on, we've got a rough day ahead of us." He patted her on the back and she loosened her grip. "We have to wake up the others. The enemy is not just going to wait for us to take our time."

Rita gave a long exhale and wiped at her eyes before stretching quickly. She grumbled under her breath and got up, heading for the sleeping Estelle to wake her up. Yuri took to waking up his boss, the little boy sprawled on the ground and snoring loudly. Yuri knelt down and lightly gripped the little boy's shoulder. "Hey Boss. Time to storm the castle." he said quietly.

Karol's brown eyes shot open and he sat up quickly, nearly hitting Yuri with his forehead. He scrambled for his sword furiously. "Where are they? Let me at 'em!" he yelled.

Yuri grabbed Karol by the back of his shirt and pulled him into a sitting position. "Easy there, Boss. No one's here." he chuckled.

Karol looked around, his eyes adjusting to the dawn. The young boy blinked a couple times before laughing nervously. "O-oh yeah...heheh, I knew that. I was just testing you."

Yuri stood back up, observing the small campsite. He frowned after making a quick headcount. Judith had taken to fixing together a quick breakfast, Karol had moved to wake up Patty, Flynn was polishing his sword, Rita sat by Estelle and Repede was now by Yuri's side, stretching and shaking off his fur.

"We're missing someone." he said, looking around again, "where's the old man at?"

From the other end of the small site, there was a very loud response. "Who the fuck cares where the hell he ran off to?" Rita had taken to violently digging through the item bag. Estelle nervously touched the mage's back with her fingertips in an effort to calm her down. It wasn't working. The brunette continued her rant. "He's probably doing something really stupid anyway! Like...harassing some women or just being a pervert and disgusting as usual. That stupid piece of shit can just go d-..." She cut herself off and threw the bag aside. She stood up swiftly and put her hands on her hips. "He...he can take care of himself. Come on, we have to get moving."

"But, Rita... isn't Raven in a lot of danger too? Shouldn't we look for him?" Estelle asked, standing as well.

"I don't even care anymore! All I care about is kicking those guys asses and teaching them a lesson about soiling the Aspio name!" the mage retorted.

"I can see that you're not in a good mood. But charging in there recklessly and loud will ruin everything we've planned," Flynn said sternly, putting his sword away.

Rita just gave him a glare. "Shut up. The more time we waste here, the less of an impact our stakeout will have on those jerks. Let's stop asking stupid questions about stupid people and just go already!"

The brunette hurled the item bag at Karol, who caught it with a small grunt. This earned a few raised eyebrows and a surprised cry of "Rita!" from Estelle.

"Come now. We must direct that temper elsewhere. Perhaps at the enemy?" Judith said, taking a slightly aggressive step forward.

Rita glared back at her, fists clenched tightly and Yuri could almost feel the sparks that flew from her stare. He took a glance up at the skyline which was getting lighter by the second. With a small sigh, he clapped his hands loudly twice to break the tension.

"We're going to lose our cover of darkness if we stand around, yelling at each other," he stated, "that is if any darkness lasts by the time we make it there. We've still got a bit of ground to cover. Let's get going."

The party collected their things and began off in a separated, but close group. They stuck to a V-formation which tightened as the patchy woods opened up to the large empty plain. The broken Tarqaron stood out plainly before them in the distance. Luckily, the huge tower blotted out the dawns light, bathing the plain in shadow. From their distance, a few lights could be seen on the ground, unblinking and unmoving.

"What do you think those are?" Estelle asked quietly.

Patty jumped ahead of the group and pulled her binoculars to her face. After silently observing, she held them away from her eyes and turned to her group of friends.

"It's dark, but it does look like there are guards, nanoja," she commented, "but not very many. What do you think we should do about them?"

"You would think a place like this would be more heavily guarded..." Flynn mumbled, putting an armored hand to his chin.

There was a small shuffle and Yuri turned to find Rita had moved closer to him, her green eyes locked onto the field. He raised a hand and rubbed her back quickly before moving ahead. "They look pretty spread out. All we can do is avoid them." he said.

The group of eight continued on and into the open plain. They used tall grass patches for cover when available and quickly approached the fallen fortress. Through pure luck they were able avoid all the guards. And even though Yuri was glad to not encounter any of them just yet, he couldn't help but feel on edge. He found himself looking around more than usual for the pair of eyes that seemed to be on his back.

"Is that it?" Karol asked quietly.

Yuri looked at the boy for a second before where he was pointing at. There was a rather large stone gateway with dim golden runes etched all over. Behind it was a dark tunnel, leading to what appeared to be the destroyed tower. The young leader approached the gate first on tiptoe, reaching out to one of the stones with a gloved hand. He braced his body as his fingertips touched one of the rune-clad stones. The group tensed up, expecting the worst. A few moments passed where nothing happened.

"I...I think it's safe." Karol said in a quiet voice.

The little boy stayed in the lead and entered the cave first, the rest of the group following close behind. The tunnel grew darker with each step with a steadily declining slope. Yuri squinted as he followed Karol, trying to catch come kind of glimpse of his surroundings. He scoffed at the blackness. With visibility at zero, it was all he could do.

The group walked for what felt like eternity. Their footsteps, once muted by the tunnel now echoed more with more metallic clinks. Someone's footstep made a hollow clunk and a few large red pillars lit up, casting the area in a dark glow. Yuri blinked to get his eyes adjusted.

"Is everyone okay?" he asked.

"What is this place...?" Karol asked quietly.

"We're definitely in Tarqaron," Judith answered, squinting as she observed the area, "but something definitely feels...off."

"Like how no one has come to attack us yet." Yuri added.

He scanned the red room slowly, double and triple checking every nook, shadow and darker area for the enemy. He noted crumbled structures and what appeared to be stairs scattered about. From what he could tell it definitely looked like Judith was telling the truth. He was hit with a harsh flood of memories from their first venture into the tower. It was a lot brighter then, and filled to the brim with monsters.

"Which way are we supposed to go?" Estelle asked, cautiously moving forward a few steps.

Repede took the lead now, his nose to the ground, sniffing the ground for a lead. The dog seemed to pick up on a scent, for his ears perked up and he froze. His nose twitched slightly as he took a couple small whiffs of the air.

"Repede? What's the matter?" Yuri asked quietly.

The dog turned to look at him for a second before casually heading off in the direction he was looking at. Yuri followed his companion, the rest of the group cautiously following. Not too far ahead was a small lump of something on the floor. Yuri held out his arm to stop the party and gripped his scabbard with his other hand, ready to flip his weapon into an attacking position. He moved forward with Repede closer to the lump.

"This is..." Yuri knelt down and picked it up. The small lump unfurled in his grasp, dangling limply. The thing felt somewhat crusty in his hand, like a very old towel that hadn't been washed in a very long time. Even though it wasn't very bright, it was easy to see the familiar shade of purple...

"That's..." Estelle started in a voice barely a whisper.

"RAVEN!"

Rita's voice rang out as her body darted forward, the girl nearly tripping over her own two feet since her body couldn't match the pace she wanted. But she made it to him and snatched the object out of his hand. The mage stared at the torn sleeve in her hands, eyes wide. For a good minute, no one said anything. Finally, Rita clenched her fists and straightened up. She turned to face the large group.

"We don't have time to fuck around anymore," she said in a stern tone, "We have to get moving. Quickly."

The young girl hastily folded the tattered sleeve and tucked it into the sash she had around her waist. She then took big strides as she walked towards the rest, who parted for her.

"Now wait, miss Mordio, we can't just wander around. That's far too dangerous." Flynn stated. Rita stopped and turned her head a little bit to show she was listening. The commandant continued. "We have no idea how much of the enemy is in here. Or how many monsters, if any. This is why we waited until now to strike. Like I said to you before, recklessly changing our plans will end badly."

Rita scoffed and folded her arms, looking away from him. "...Fine," she snapped.

Flynn ignored her comment and took a quick look around. "Now then...we had to ascend many flights of stairs to reach the top last time, did we not?"

"Do you think that will work again?" Karol asked the knight.

"It's the only lead we have," Flynn answered.

"Then let's find some stairs," Yuri added, walking to rejoin with the group. He turned to look at Judith, who returned the look for a second before smirking.

"And I suppose you want me to be your seeing-eye Krityan?" she asked, placing a hand over her chest.

"You do have better eyesight than humans, right?" Yuri asked with a grin.

Judith let out a dramatic sigh. "I suppose I'll ignore this treatment for now, until we solve our little problem."

Estelle quickly approached her, clasping her gloved hands together. "Oh thank you, Judith. We'd be lost in here without you."

The Krityan smiled at her. "That makes this job more bearable. Thank you, Estelle."

The princess smiled back, a light hue appearing on her cheeks. Judith then looked over the party before turning away, scanning the dimness for leads. She started forward slowly, scanning the entire perimeter. The rest of the group followed the lead at the same pace, hands on weapons, ready to fight.

"I think that's a staircase...that way," Judith said, pointing in a direction.

Just as everyone turned to look, Rita plowed through them to get to it.

"Miss Mordio, wait!" Flynn called out.

Rita didn't listen. She was on a mission. The staircase was only about ten feet away. Rita smirked and started to climb it, ignoring the party calling her back. The teen had managed to make it up five steps before stopping. The staircase stopped before her eyes, broken off to a dark pit below. She froze in place, eyes widening.

Then came the crack—a loud snap that echoed through the room. And the top step Rita stood on began to fall. She immediately tried to step back, but the stairs continued to crumble wherever she placed her feet. The girl was swiftly pulled back by a couple hands and against a hard body.

"Are you crazy?!" Karol's voice rang out.

The brunette turned her head up to look at who caught her. A very unhappy Yuri's gaze met her own and she shuddered a bit in his grasp. Estelle took a couple steps closer to the two, worry etched on her face.

"Rita, we're all upset by finding that. But...but we need to stay calm and not rush into things." she said.

Yuri ended it with a scolding of his own. "We've already lost one of our own. I'm not letting another one go." With that, he released her and turned to rejoin the group. Rita sheepishly followed with Estelle in tow.

The rest of the group didn't say much to her. Anything needed had already been said. Yuri noticed Flynn casually walk closer to Rita. Maybe to keep her better in check. Though he couldn't really blame the girl. Raven had left a large impression on everyone.

"You don't think all the stairs are like that, do you Judy?" he asked, getting their thoughts back on track.

Judith squinted and quickly looked around the room. "Most of these stairs seem like they're broken off at some point or another..." she said as she finished her scan, " even I'm having a little bit of trouble here."

The group continued to move on, Yuri and Flynn both flanking Rita now. The younger girl didn't seem to pleased with the situation, but only expressed it with a scowl.

"W-wait guys!" Karol's voice called with a slight echo.

The party stopped and looked at each other for just a moment before realizing Karol was standing a couple feet behind them. The young boy had taken to staring at one of the red-light pillars, which was located fairly close to him. He frowned at it.

"Something's been bothering me. L-like these things. What's even keeping them powered?" he asked.

"Let me see," Rita said, once again forcing her way through. Only this time, Flynn was right behind her, keeping a close eye on her. Rita noticed and rolled her eyes at him before stopping in front of one of the red pillars. She leaned in close to it and stared at the light with heavy concentration. Everyone waited patiently for the genius's evaluation. It wasn't much longer before her eyes widened and Rita backed away from the light. "No way..." she said heavily.

Flynn was the first to ask the question that was on everyone's minds. "What is it?"

The young mage didn't answer him. Instead she spun around and walked up to Yuri.

"Are you still wearing that sorcerers ring?" she asked sharply.

Yuri blinked a couple times and looked at his right hand. There it was, to his surprise. He had forgotten he was wearing it, it had been so long. He held up his hand to her to show it off.

"Yeah, it's right here," he said.

Rita grabbed his hand and pulled him over to the pillar. She held the ring on his hand up to the glass and waited. Soon, the ring began to glow and shine, just as it had when it's properties changed in the past. The brunette let Yuri's hand go and he let it drop back to his side.

"This is not good," Rita said, shaking her head. She turned around and faced the party. "That red light is Aer. But it's not...natural. While it is true that the rest of the supplies of Aer in the world are being depleted and replaced by Mana, there isn't enough to create all the energy in these pillars."

"So...what does that mean, nanoja?" Patty asked nervously.

"It means..." Rita stumbled on her words, placing a hand to her chin. "...If I can get a sample of this stuff, I could tell exactly what it's composed of and where it originated from."

"So why don't we just smash this open?" Yuri asked, readying his blade.

"No! You can't! That is very concentrated stuff in there!" Rita yelled, pushing his sword away, "if any of that spills out, it could suffocate us with its density." She took another look at the red light, watching it carefully. "...If we can get to the source of the flow, there might be a better chance of examining it. Maybe even getting the formula. Now, the way it wants to flow is upwards, and you can kind of see that near the glass. But there's a force pushing the flow downwards. That's more obvious to notice."

"So the source would be...upstairs?" Estelle asked.

Rita nodded at the princess. "Precisely."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go up!" Patty said happily, jumping in the air.

Yuri turned to Judith, who gave an over-exaggerated sigh. "I suppose you want me to begin looking again," she said, unable to hide her smile.

"If you'd be so kind," the dark swordsman grinned.

Judith chuckled to herself and looked around, squinting her eyes. "Over there looks close to the entrance when we first entered the place," she commented, nodding her head in a direction.

"What are we waiting around for then, nanoja?" Patty asked, taking a few long strides in the direction Judith acknowledged, "I want to find the leader and save my buddy! I know he's still alive I just know it!"

The party started to move onward, following Judith and Patty's lead. And as much as he wanted to believe the young pirate and trust that the oldest member of their party was still okay, he couldn't help but shake a nagging feeling that it might have already been too late.

It didn't take very long for them to reach the first set of stairs in the maze-like dungeon. Flynn stopped the party and walked ahead, testing out the steps gingerly. Though they were broken and in a much worse state than last time, the set seemed sturdy enough to climb. The rest followed him up past the floors, nearly retracing their every step from the last time they climbed the tower. Yuri kept his blade ready for action, his dark eyes constantly darting around the floors. They would pass by a monster tube and Yuri would start to move into action, only to find the once-live monster had died in the glass, leaving only a half-decayed body.

"...It's strange how nothing has come to attack us yet," he commented, taking his eyes off yet another monster corpse.

"M-maybe everything that was here died after the tower crashed back into the mountains," Karol suggested.

"As true as that sounds, it's weird that no monsters have moved in since then. It's...I don't like it," Yuri added.

"Let's just hope they continue to stay away," Estelle said.

The group continued to travel upwards and around bends, through the towers remains. However, it wasn't long until Judith came to a stop before a doorway, the others stopping right behind her. The Krityan made a disappointed noise and folded her arms.

"This looks like the end of the line, unfortunately," she announced.

Rita started to move ahead to investigate, but Yuri wasn't going to have any of that. He quickly took a couple strides to get ahead of her and turned around to face her.

"Nuh-uh. You're gotten in enough trouble today as it is," he said sternly.

Rita gave him a pout but shrugged it off. "Fine," she replied sharply.

Yuri stood there for a moment longer before turning his back on her and the party, facing the doorway. It was obvious this door lead to the outside as it had done before. The sun had risen a bit more, but still kept the majority of the mountains in shadow. The floor looked sturdy and he tested it by gingerly pressing some weight just on the other side of the threshold. Nothing was giving way so he decided to venture out further. Only by a few steps. The floor was fine, and in nearly the same condition as before. When he looked up and to the left, however, he frowned.

"Umm, guys? We have a problem here," he called back to the group.

The ex-knight turned to find Flynn had followed him out and looked in the same direction. Flynn exhaled sharply as he too saw the problem.

"There are stairs alright," the commandant sighed.

"Up there. The rest are broken off. Unless we want to do a little mountain climbing, we're not going to reach them." Yuri finished. He walked back to the group, Flynn right in front.

"Oh...now what are we going to do?" Estelle asked with a whimper.

There was a few seconds of silence before Karol spoke. "Judith! What about Ba'ul?"

Judith looked at him for a second before touching the side of her head and closed her eyes. She remained in that state for a second before letting her arm drop back to her side and re-opened her eyes to look at Karol.

"He says he would love to, but he's scared of this place. That it doesn't feel right," she answered.

"Well then how are we supposed to get up higher?" a now frustrated Karol asked.

A loud yell came from behind the party. Everyone turned to see Patty, stomping around, huffing and growling. The young pirate had moved to one of the dead tube monsters not far away from the group and was pacing in front of it.

"Damn it damn it! How are we supposed to rescue Gramps now, nanoja?!" she yelled, practically throwing a tantrum, "this place is stupid, these mages are stupid...It's not fair!" The pirate pulled her gun out of its holster and continued her vent. "All of you idiots are too cowardly to show yourselves, huh?! You have to sneak around like...like...wimps, nanoja?" She pointed her pistol at the monster in the glass. "I hope you're watching! This will be you in just moments!"

Before anyone could react, Patty unloaded five rounds into the glass, sending echos of each blast through the large room. The glass shattered, and the body of the once encased monster tumbled out onto the floor. Patty stood there now silent, staring into the broken glass tube.

"Patty! What are you doing?!" Estelle cried, running to the small girl. As she moved, her body began to glow brightly from the healing spell she began to cast.

"I'm fine, Big sis," Patty said after the princess knelt by her side,"but..."

Estelle gave Patty a questioning look before turning her attention to the broken glass.

"Y-Yuri! Everyone come here!" she called.

The party moved quickly to the two's location, Yuri in the lead. "What's the matter?" he asked quickly.

"There's runes of some sort in there!" Patty said, pointing at the inside of the tube.

Yuri grabbed part of the fallen monster and, with the help of Flynn and Repede, pulled the beast fully out of its prior cage. When he returned to investigate, he saw Patty was right. Strange and colorful symbols were etched into what looked like more glass under where the monster had been. He turned to Rita, who simply nodded before squatting in front of it to take a look. She mumbled some words and waved her hand slowly across the surface of the runes. The symbols responded and began to glow brightly. The light grew brighter and lifted from the runes themselves, floating above their glass floor.

"...What is it?" Estelle asked breathlessly, her eyes glued to the phenomenon before her.

Rita frowned at them. She muttered a few more words and drew a circle in the air with her finger around them. The symbols rearranged themselves and settled back into the glass as if they were carved in that way all along. She chuckled to herself and straightened up, a smug smile on her face.

"Problem solved," she smirked.

"Great. Now tell us what the hell you did." Yuri said.

Rita gave him a look before squatting back in front of the ruins. "Can everyone see?" she asked, "the way the ruins were before I messed with them spelled out 'stop' in ancient Maxian. But the same four symbols in a different order can also mean 'upwards'." When no one jumped on her explanation, the young mage sighed. "I basically turned this into a teleport. A crude one, but it should still work."

"Where is this going to take us?" Judith asked.

"Well...up. If there were more runes, I could probably have made it more specific..." Rita answered.

"That's a big hit-or-miss," Yuri commented, folding his arms.

Patty tapped her boot on the ground, her pistol still in hand. "We don't have a choice if we want to find the leader and Raven, nanoja. I'm voting we go and use it," she said sternly.

"She does have a point..." Flynn added.

"Oh why not? We don't have any other options. And I for one have faith in Rita," Judith smiled, turning to the mage.

The compliment made Rita blush lightly. She stood up and brushed off her uniform and cleared her throat quickly. "Well? Are we going in or what?"

Patty was the first to step onto the glass, keeping careful about it and testing her weight with one foot before finally fully standing on the plate. "It's safe enough, nanoja," she announced.

"With Patty in there, it looks like only four people can fit in at a time," Yuri observed.

Estelle stood up and entered the tube, careful of the broken glass around it. "I want to go with Patty. To make sure she'll be safe," she said, determination in her voice.

The young pirate looked up at her and smiled widely before giving the princess a hug. Estelle returned it with one arm, looking out at everyone else. Karol started moving towards the tube, but he was cut off by Flynn, who had moved fast and climbed onto the teleport first.

"I'm going with Lady Estellise. It's still part of my duties to keep her safe, even if she no longer lives in the Imperial City," he announced.

"And I'm going first too because I'm the boss!" Karol added, squeezing his way into the tube.

"When you guys get there, don't move," Yuri warned, "just wait for us to get there before anyone does anything." He focused on Flynn and added, "I'm trusting you to keep everyone safe, Flynn."

The knight nodded once and gave Yuri a small salute as best he could in his cramped quarters. Rita then stood in front of the tube and her friends inside and reached out her arms, palms out. She closed her eyes and began to speak a spell.

"" The tips of her fingers began to glow and the runes once again began to shine brightly. "" Light began to shine up from the feet of those inside the tube. "" Yuri furrowed his brow as he watched his friends. He locked eyes with Estelle, who gave him a worried look before the light engulfed all four of them. There was a snap, a bang, and they were gone.

The light quickly died down and went out shortly afterwards. Rita doubled over, putting her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. Yuri stood next to her, a hand hovering just above her back.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Y-yeah...that was tougher than I thought," Rita panted.

"I suppose it's our turn then," Judith said, stepping into the tube.

Repede sniffed at it and whimpered quietly. He looked at his master, as if asking if it was safe.

"You'll be fine, Repede," Yuri assured the dog. He turned his attention back to Rita and helped her straighten up. "Ready to go?" he asked.

Rita nodded and entered the tube, Yuri right behind her. When Repede tried to follow, they found out his body was too long to fit in snugly. Yuri kneeled down as far as he could and scooped his companion up and on his shoulder so his front paws rested on the back of his neck.

"That better, Repede?" he asked with a smile.

The dog just barked in response and wagged his tail.

"Stay close, everyone. I'm about to cast it again," Rita said, holding out her arms once more. She repeated the spell, causing the light to engulf the small group.

Yuri felt his stomach flip and drop to his toes as the light got brighter. Then suddenly, he felt lighter than air. The weight of Repede in his arms disappeared and he found himself squeezing his arms tighter to make sure he didn't lose him. Wind began rushing through his ears and for a moment he thought he would go deaf from it. Then, in a second, everything stopped. His stomach returned to its spot and he almost stumbled from Repede's weight returning to his arms. The long-haired male blinked and waited for vision to return. It wasn't long of a wait at all. He set Repede down and took a better look at his surroundings.

Rita and Judith were still by his sides, and appeared to still be recovering from the trip. He looked past them and around the room they arrived in. The room was large. Very large. If it weren't for the bright red vertical lines in the distance, Yuri would have sworn they were outside. Large bright lines were engraved everywhere in the floors walls and ceiling. Some were small, and the ones by his feet looked at most a foot wide. But others appeared much much wider. He followed the lines patterns to where they all met up in a close-knit cluster ahead of him .The lines climbed a circular platform and into a large red sphere that rested on it. Yuri took a step backwards as he looked up above it. Hooked up to the orb was a large barrel that resembled one on a cannon.

"...Where are we?" he whispered.

He returned his gaze straight and spotted the others not too far ahead. They were close together and all looking at the weapon before them. He speedwalked to them, Rita, Judith and Repede not far behind.

"Hey," he greeted.

The first to turn and face him was Karol. The young boy was shaking and his eyes were wide.

"Y-Yuri...what is th-th-that...thing?" he squeaked.

"A weapon to re-revolutionize the world."

A deep and menacing voice came from behind the party. Everyone spun around, and Yuri threw his sheath away, ready to fight. There was a figure standing behind them. They were covered by a dark cloak with the hood down and stood just far away enough to keep his face hidden.

"Is that you, Rita Mordio?" the figure asked again, "I'm glad you decided to come here and join us...we could have used your help before. They might still be alive if you just helped us from the beginning...but as you can see, we figured it out without you."

"Who are you? Where's Raven?!" Rita yelled at the man.

"All part of the plan...The one with the Heart is serving his purpose as we speak. But it doesn't look like he will last much longer." The man opened his arms, as if looking for an embrace. "So I'm going to ask only once for the Rizomata Subject with you. After all, we can't afford to lose power because the one with the Heart is too weak."

Rita's body began to tremble. Yuri placed a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her. It wasn't working.

"You... I'll kill you! I'LL KILL YOU!" Rita screamed.

The young girl darted forward towards the man, her fists raised.

"Rita wait!" Yuri called, running after her.

The man let his arms fall back to his sides. "...Then I'll use force." He moved quickly, pointing at the charging Rita and Yuri who was right behind her. There was a spark and a row of flame sprung forth from his hand. The flame quickly took the shape of a very angry Chinese dragon and rocketed towards them. Yuri didn't even think. He jumped and tackled Rita, sucessfully pushing her out of the way of the attack. Just in time for her to be safe. And only her. The flame dragon barreled into Yuri, sending him flying backwards. He cried out in pain for a second before the flames entered his lungs, forcing him to shut his mouth. He was carried upwards by the force until the flames died out. He was suspended in the air for a second before gravity took hold and sent him crashing to the ground. He felt a flare of pain spring from his back up to his neck, then nothing.


	15. Good Dog, Best Friend

Yuri knew he was regaining consciousness when he could hear the familiar clang of steel against steel echoing around him. He slowly opened his eyes, reaching up to grab his head in attempts to stop the raging headache he now had. The first thing to enter his eyesight was Karol's body to the left, the young boys arms above his head.

"Nice Aid Smash!" he yelled, starting to bring his over-sized sword down.

Yuri panicked. With a yell, he jolted upright, curling to the right to escape the blade. The sword clunked on the floor, healing runes sprouting from the impact. That was something he had seen time and time again, and didn't hold his attention. What did grab it was the lime green transparent light that surrounded him and Karol, and his friends in the distance dancing around the hooded man in battle.

"Yuri are you sure you should be moving so quickly?" the worried voice of Estelle said from behind him.

Yuri turned to focus his attention on her. The princess was glowing and her hands were clasped together. He then realized he must have had his head in her lap while he was out.

"Geez Yuri! I wasn't going to hit you!" Karol shouted, looking over at him.

Yuri just coughed to cover his mistake. Of course. Karol never actually hit anyone while performing a healing arte.

"What's going on?" he asked quickly, changing the subject.

"You got hit pretty hard, Yuri," Karol started, "You didn't respond for a while. Estelle set up a barrier with Sylph to protect you..." the little boy looked out through the magic barrier at the ongoing fight. "Rita got really scary after that...she, Flynn, Judith, Repede and Patty have been out there, fighting him ever since. He looks strong..."

Outside, the five-on-one fight raged on. The battlers were far away, so it was difficult for Yuri to clearly see who was where. Not to mention the swarm of elements flying around. Yuri growled.

"Why are we not out there already? They need help!" he yelled.

"We wanted to make sure you were okay first, Yuri," Estelle said calmly, looking up at him, "I...We were worried about you. You weren't moving and..." The princess trailed off, putting her hands to her chin. "Can you rest a few more moments? Please?"

Yuri took another look at the fighters and frowned. "I can't just stand around while they're out there," he said sternly.

The other two were silent for a moment. Finally, Estelle stood up, the barrier flickering as she did so. She approached Yuri and took his hand in between hers. She closed her eyes and performed a quick First Aid on him. The action caused their defense to fizzle out.

"I'll be here to support you, Yuri. And I'll fight with all my might as well," she said. Yuri felt her squeeze his hand tighter. Estelle glanced in the direction of the battle. "You can do it, Yuri. They need you out there," she continued. The small smile she sported grew a bit when she added, "Rita needs you."

Yuri was at a loss. He blinked a couple times at her before smiling as well. He put his other hand over hers. "...Thanks, Estelle."

The pinkette blinked rapidly as her eyes began to water. But she kept smiling up at him.

"Come on, guys!" Karol called, "we have a butt to kick! And we have to go rescue father!"

The young boy ran off to join the fight with his oversized blade drawn. Yuri and Estelle watched him for a second before looking back at each other. Estelle removed her hands from his and the two of them started for the fighting grounds.

"We have to go save Raven!" she said determinedly.

"That's what I've been saying!" Yuri yelled back with a grin.

Just as the three entered the battlefield, an airborne Judith dropped next to Yuri, Brionac brandished defensively.

"Oh good, you're alive," she greeted before using her weapon to deflect a fire ball, "for a moment there I thought you were dead."

"I don't die that easily," Yuri replied, readying himself for a charge.

Now that he was closer, he could see his enemy clearer. The man was tall. Taller than him. If Yuri could guess, he would say about 6'5". His face was square and large with his blood-red hair slicked backwards. He had a light beard that covered his entire chin and cheeks. And he was twisting constantly, defending himself from the rest and sending countless spells towards the attackers.

He waited for just the right moment, then the ex-knight ran forward with his blade ahead, right for the mage. With a roar, He thrust his sword forward, aiming right at his chest. And so he did. Yuri pierced who he assumed to be the leader right through his chest. Yet...he didn't flinch? He didn't cry out in pain? There simply was no reaction. This had happened before, and Yuri had forgotten. He had just made a crucial mistake in plans.

"Your stupidity astounds me," the taller-than-him mage said with a small chuckle.

From one of his long robed sleeves, he produced a rather large and ornate staff with a large, red sparkling blastia core fastened to the end of it. With one powerful swing, he smacked Yuri with it, sending the swordsman flying. His sword, which he still held tight to, moved with him and slashed through the enemy. But it exited as if it were never there to begin with.

"Yuri!" Estelle celled from behind.

Yuri growled and looked over his shoulder at the approaching Estelle.

"Stay back!" he yelled to her.

Estelle stopped in place and Yuri turned his attention back to the mage's chief. Karol had darted to Yuri's side, helping to defend Estelle. Repede leapt in front of his master, growling and barking at his foe. Judith Rita and Flynn rushed him from behind, hoping to each blindside the man. He simply tapped his staff on the floor. Under all three of them, three stone stalagmites shot up, hitting them or tripping them up. All three fell. The older mage then spun around, sending a swarm of icicle bullets in Patty's direction. The young girl screamed as she tried to deflect them. There were too many, and she ended up falling back, getting trapped between the magic ice like it was a prison cell. This was the last straw for Repede. The dog let out a howl and charged forward, his blade held firmly between his teeth and facing his enemy.

"Repede, stop!" Yuri called out, scrambling to his feet.

He was too late. Repede had jumped in the air, aiming right for the lead mage's face. There was no possible way he could have missed.

But the mage was faster.

He held up his free hand in the way of Repede's blade as if to block it. And then, Repede froze in mid air. It felt like that to him, at least. The reality of the situation was the dog being suspended by thick vines that had silently risen up to grab him. Yuri picked himself up and ran towards his closest companion, ready to slash at the vines and free him. He was knocked backwards by a rather large fireball that came from the chiefs staff. Yuri was winded and a little dazed, but he stood and charged again. He had to save Repede! He had seen what those vines were capable of doing to anything caught up in them. But every time he tried, he was knocked away by some powerful spell. Anyone else who tried to rescue the dog wound up with the same fate.

"Hold on, Repede!" Yuri called out one last time,

He stood once again and started to run to save the dog.

"...You all are meddlesome. It's hopeless to concentrate with you getting up all the time." the chief sighed.

The core on his staff glowed brightly and sent out a shockwave. Yuri collapsed to the ground, his sword clattering away from his reach. He tried to get up and found it impossible. Anyone else who had been standing or attempting to stand were knocked down as well.

"What...is this?!" Flynn asked breathlessly.

"A new spell we have been able to master. Heavy Gravity...what a wonder it truly is," the mage said with marvel, "and you have your genius friend to thank for it. Your notebooks that survived the fall of our glorious city proved quite useful in the advancement of our plans, Rita Mordio."

"My...notes?" Rita asked.

Yuri managed to turn his head to the right to see her. She looked like she was in pain on the ground, but her face held a shocked expression as well. But he didn't look at her for long. His attention was grabbed by a loud series of pain-filled yelps. He focused back on Repede...or what was once Repede. The ivy rush spell had been completed. The long and sharp thorns had exposed themselves and jutted out of the vines. Repede lay in the tangled mess limply, blood dripping off his fur and the vines that held him there. Soon, the vines vanished and the dog dropped like a rock to the ground. He didn't move.

The party stayed silent, unable to move from their gravity trap. Yuri was the first to speak up.

"Repede...hey, Repede! You're okay, Repede! Come on! Repede!" he shouted.

The dog continued to lay motionless on the ground.

"Repede..." Estelle started calling to the dog from her spot on the floor.

Yuri couldn't move to see her, but he could tell by her voice that she was crying.

"He's fine! Repede is fine!" he yelled back, "He's-!"

"Dead. As a doornail," the mage leader finished.

The cloaked man took a long step towards the fallen dog and picked up the body by the back of its neck, holding it to his eye level. He stared at Repede for a long moment as if contemplating what to do with it. Yuri wasn't going to have any of that. He struggled and did his best to pick himself up. It was difficult and painful. It felt like a mountain was on his back, trying to crush him into the ground. He fought the weight, getting himself to one knee.

"You bastard...!" he growled, his body shaking as he moved to rise.

The mage looked at him, turning his head ever so slightly to face the long-haired fighter. He pointed his staff at Yuri and send another shockwave from the core, casting a second Heavy Gravity spell. This was too much for Yuri. He cried out and fell to the ground, the weight having doubled on his shoulders.

"What a pity it had to die. I could have used some of that energy," the mage said quietly. He raised Repede's body up and flung it away like a piece of garbage.

"You fucking asshole...you're next. I'm going to beat you senseless." Yuri growled.

The mage chief walked over to him and put the end of his staff to Yuri's cheek. "Are you really in a position to make threats?" he asked calmly.

Yuri didn't say anything else. He glared as best he could into his foes eyes, his upper lip curled up in a snarl. The chief moved away from him, satisfied with his silence.

"Who even are you?" Karol choked out.

The older mage stood still for a moment, looking as if he didn't hear the young boy's question. "...Simon," he answered with his low and raspy voice. He looked down at them for a moment with a blank expression. From the ground, Yuri's view wasn't the best, but he could have sworn there was a smile on the mans face.

"Wh-what are you...planning to do?" Estelle asked, her voice breaking with strain.

"Wh-where's Raven?!" Rita barked, "where's my dad!?"

"What noisy people you all are," Simon said with a shake of his head, "and what annoying questions. But Mordio, haven't you figured it out by now? You _were_ always smarter than the rest of us." He finished his sentence with a slightly condescending tone as he turned to face where she lay. "and you have brought them to us. The Rizomata Subject, the one with the Heart...they're tools to people like us. They have the power to rewrite the world...combined with your research, of course. I must thank you.

"Through all your research notes and personal journals that we scavenged after our great cities collapse, we were able to piece together a new technique. One that will restore this land to it's former glory. One that will give you a job again, Mordio. It will give us all jobs again. All we needed were the final two pieces to the puzzle."

"Restore the land...?" Judith asked, struggling to push herself upwards, "rewrite the world? What are you...talking about?"

The mage chief didn't answer her. He stayed still for a moment longer before moving to the left, approaching the pinned Estelle. The princess, frozen due to the gravity spell and her own fear, could only stare up at him from her spot on the floor. Simon waved his staff over her body before kneeling down to pick her up.

"No! Stop! What are you doing?!" Estelle yelled, panicking. She flailed desperately in his one-armed grasp as she was flung over his shoulder effortlessly. "Put me down! Stop it!" She turned her attention to Yuri, who was trying his best to lift himself up. Even though it felt like he weighed a ton.

"No! Estelle!" Rita yelled, also trying against the odds to get up from the floor, "give her back! Estelle!"

When he deemed he was far enough away, Simon stopped and turned his head slightly to view his prisoners behind him. "Soon, Mordio, you shall see. The old age reborn anew. And you will be ever grateful for us doing this task."

With that, he raised his staff in the air and brought it down to the floor with a loud smack. Yuri felt the spell lift from his body, the invisible weight that had been keeping him down vanished. As fast as he could, the swordsman sprung up and darted for his fallen sword. He straightened up and targeted Simon. He roared and ran forward to attack, just as a bright light engulfed the mage chief and Estelle. They vanished in an instant. Yuri slowed himself to a halt, stopping just a couple feet past where they had been.

"Damn coward..." he growled at the spot they had been.

He had to get to them as soon as possible. But first...

Yuri lowered his sword and started walking to where Repede's body had landed. The dog lay in a crumpled heap, completely motionless. Yuri was the first to arrive, followed soon after by Patty then the rest of the party. He knelt by his companion, putting his free hand on the dogs shoulder.

"Alright, Repede, you don't have to pretend anymore," he said, forcing a small smile.

Repede didn't respond. This made Yuri frown.

"Hey. Repede. Didn't you hear me?" he asked, giving the dogs body a shake, "come on, I know you can't go that quickly."

"Repede, buddy..." Patty said softly, kneeling on the opposite side of Yuri.

The rest of the group gathered around their fallen friend silently, save for the quiet sobs that started to come from the young pirate.

"Repede. Pal. Come on," Yuri could feel his voice straining to stay even. It couldn't be true. Repede was tougher than that. He couldn't believe it. He continued to call his companions name, his voice getting louder and shakier by the second. It wasn't working. Yuri was getting desperate. He gripped his sword hilt tightly and stood up. He began to go through the actions he had done a million times before.

"Guardian field!" he called, jamming the tip of his blade into the ground.

Nothing happened. Yuri went through the motions again, trying to use the only healing Arte he knew to save his friend. But no matter how many times he went through the actions, there was no effect. The blastia around his wrist had stopped working the day the Adephagos was removed from the world. And with nothing to channel the remaining Aer, like Estelle's natural power, the move couldn't be performed. This didn't stop him from trying. Again and again, Yuri failed to perform Guardian Field. After his 20th time, he was halted by a light touch on his upper arm. He turned to find Flynn, who was shaking his head, a solemn look on his face.

"Yuri, it's not going to work," he said.

Yuri frowned. "So what? You're asking me to give up on him?" he growled.

He didn't wait for a response. But he did lower his sword. Yuri began digging in his pockets, madly searching for something. During his travels, he learned to always hold on to a couple emergency gels. Just as he was beginning to think he dropped them somewhere, he found the gel in his vest pocket. Removing it quickly, he knelt by Repede again and gently moved the dogs face upwards.

"Here Repede. Just eat this and you'll be better in no time," he told the dog, placing the gel in his maw.

He waited for a second, moving quickly to catch the item just as it rolled out of the dogs mouth. The swordsman tried again, gently closing Repede's mouth, then rubbing his throat making him swallow. Still, nothing happened. And the reality of the situation was forcing its way into his mind. A strange hollow feeling rose up from inside him. Repede. His best and only companion for five years. Gone.

From his spot on the ground, he lifted Repede into his lap, almost cradling the animal. "Damn it...I'm so sorry Repede," he whispered, bringing the dogs cheek to his nose, "I couldn't do anything. I'm sorry."

A silence filled the air as Yuri held tight to his best friend. He sat like that for a few more seconds before setting Repede's body on the ground and standing up straight. The party watched him without saying a word. None of them knew what to say anyway.

"...Hey," Rita started, taking a couple steps closer to him.

"We have to go save Estelle. And the old man." Yuri said quickly, interrupting her, "we can't afford to lose any more time."

Patty, who had remained on the floor petting Repede's body, spoke up. "But..what about..."

"We have to keep on moving."

That sentence came out much harsher than he would have wanted it to. He was fully aware of that. Yuri made a mental note to do something about it later.

"We need to follow this guy. There's no time to waste sitting around," he finished, not fixing his tone.

"I-I'm gonna go check out that cannon-thingy. Maybe we can figure out what it really does!" Karol said quickly, trying to regain focus.

The young leader was the first to leave, his boots echoing as he ran to the oversized weapon. Soon, each party member left to join him, leaving Yuri standing by his companions body. That was just fine with him. He wanted a moment to take in everything. His own thoughts. Just to be alone.

A million thoughts flooded through his mind, each one lasting a second or two. And all of them centered around his best companion. Ah, there was his first meeting with him in the streets. Repede's victory against Little Wolf for the first time, dressing his wounds with Flynn...All up until the end of their journey to save humanity. That's when Yuri felt it. That little trickle on his face. He scoffed at himself and quickly brushed the lone tear away. Not in front of anyone else. Even though the rest had left him alone.

"...Hey."

Shit. Yuri stayed still, keeping his back to her. But his turned his head a little, to show he was listening.

"What's up, Rita?" he asked, his voice somewhat hollow.

There was the sound of her footsteps on the stone floor and the next thing Yuri knew, she had grabbed tightly to his hand.

"Come on, I think I figured it out," she said, giving his arm a small tug, "I need you there too, Yuri."

"What did you figure out?" he asked.

"If I tell you without showing you, you're gonna get lost," Rita commented, the smallest of smiles appearing on her face.

Yuri couldn't help but give a smile in return. "Alright, alright. Lead the way," he said.

Rita pulled on his arm again, starting to lead him to the over-sized cannon. Yuri had no choice but to follow her to it, away from Repede. As the two got within a few feet of the rest of the party, Rita abruptly released his hand. The swordsman was, to be completely honest, just a little upset from it. But he wasn't going to complain.

"Alright Rita. What's going on. How do we get Estelle?" he asked.

"This thing, "Rita said, pointing to the cannon, "is no conventional weapon. But it's charging. I can't hack into it. There is a substantial amount of the worlds remaining Aer being channeled into this thing. The mana generation can't keep up."

"In other words, the world is becoming imbalanced again," Judith said to sum things up.

Rita folded her arms and tapped her foot impatiently on the ground. "That's really all I got. The marks left on the floor by that ass are different from the device I patched together earlier."

"Karol and I scouted around earlier. The only entrance to this place has been sealed up tight by some kind of magical barrier." Flynn reported, "one that we couldn't figure out how to break in time to save Her Highness."

"We're out of ideas, nanoja. We were kind of hoping you could think of something, Yuri." Patty said, looking up at him hopefully.

Yuri was quiet, taking in all the information. No ideas, no leads, and they were essentially trapped. Things really didn't look too good. But then...

"Where did that guy take Estelle?" he asked.

Karol ran forward, past Yuri and to the spot where Simon disappeared with Estelle. "Here," he said, pointing to the ground, "right where his gibberish is."

Yuri and the rest met up with Karol at the spot. Sure enough, remnants of a language Yuri didn't understand were tattooed into the floor. It was the same spot, alright.

"What are you doing? Those can't be rearranged at all. I already tried," Rita said.

Yuri frowned. He knelt down by the characters. They seemed to glow, just a little bit. Yuri wasn't too sure. Still, it didn't hurt to try at least. He lifted his right hand and looked at the sorcerers ring that still sat on his ring finger. He pointed the gem at the words and fired a bolt of Aer at them. The ground reacted instantly, the ancient language beginning to glow. Rita nearly pushed Yuri over, kneeling down to investigate.

"It's...open," she said, surprised. The young mage stood up quickly. "Everyone gather close. It's gotta get all of us, you know."

Yuri stood up as well, huddling together with everyone else. He, Flynn and Judith encircled the younger party members. Somehow, Rita had gotten right in front of him.

….Not that he was going to complain.

"Yuri, hit it with the ring again," Rita instructed.

Yuri moved his arm a bit in the cramped quarters and aimed as best he could at the words under all their feet. Again, he fired a burst of Aer at the glowing letters. The light rapidly shone brighter and soon engulfed them all. Soon, that lighter-than-air feeling returned to Yuri and his stomach plummeted once again. In an instant, they had vanished just like their enemy before.

* * *

><p>The cannon room was silent, save for the hum of the weapon charging. From the middle of the room, there was a slight shuffle, a cough, and a quiet whimper.<p> 


End file.
